3 Phoenix Suns Players Who could Still Heat Up in the Playoffs

Phoenix Suns Players to Heat Up in Playoffs: Cameron Payne

Battling the injury bug all year, Cameron Payne struggled to find a consistent grove. Yes, he finished with a career-high 10.8 points per game, but his field goal percentage dropped this year by 7.5 percentage points, as did his 3-point percentage by a whopping 10.4 percentage points.

Most troubling though, Payne seemed to develop a slippery grip on the rock, putting up a 2.73 assist-to-turnover ratio, his worst in four years.

But while Payne’s overall numbers might make his regular season look somewhat sloppy and disoriented, those that have watched him know that he cleaned up his game in early spring, looking ready to peak now during the postseason.

After the All-Star break, as he finally recovered from what was his second multi-game stint on the injury report, Payne averaged 12.5 points per game and boasted a 4.64 assist-to-turnover ratio. He shot it at a 42.2 percent clip from the field post All-Star as well, and 33.9 percent from deep.

Every single one of these marks represent stark improvements on his full-season figures In each respective stat category.

Like we expect to see from Johnson, Payne is now fully healthy and seems more than excited to plunge through the playoffs with Phoenix again, being one of the main energy guys on the team both in this year and the last.

Who could forget how he blitzed the Los Angeles Lakers with four double-digit scoring games off the bench in the first round last year? What about his 29-point and nine assist game vs the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference Finals a few weeks later?

We know Payne always plays fearlessly, but he has a history of doing so to an even further extent in the playoffs. That, on top of his aforementioned mid-season turnaround makes him an absolute nightmare for any opposing team to match their reserves up with.