Game 4 might have been one of the ugliest playoff games I have witnessed. It had to be said. That does not mean that it was not entertaining or that there were not good points in the game. Neither team could hit shots that they usually make it. Both teams had jumpers that hit every part of the rim, but the ball couldn't find its way to hit the bottom of the net. To put it into perspective, the fourth quarter only had 29 total points scored by both teams combined. The game went down to the wire and concluded with Demarcus Cousins chucking the ball off the backboard on a free throw forgetting the rules of basketball.
The bright spot for the Suns was Deandre Ayton. Ayton had a game that showed why Phoenix drafted him number one overall in the 2018 draft. The Bahamian center ended the night with 19 points, 22 rebounds, and four blocks on 57 percent shooting. Without his rebounding and his interior defense, the Suns could have easily lost this game. The not-so-bright spot for Phoenix was the performance of its two stars, Devin Booker and Chris Paul. In Game 3, they shot a combined 10 - 40 from the field. On Saturday, their shooting woes did not improve much as they shot a combined 14 - 44. It got so bad, that Booker decided to take his facemask off that he was wearing to protect him after breaking his nose in Game 2. These two were not the only ones struggling to hit a shot though. The team only shot 36 percent from the field. The fact that the Suns were able to win this game without a good performance from Booker and Paul shows how deep this Phoenix team is. Other players were able to step up and win a crucial game to push the lead to 3 - 1 and only one game away from the NBA Finals.
A promising sign for the Suns was the injury return of Abdel Nader and Cameron Payne. Abdel Nader had spent the past three months rehabbing his knee after having a procedure on his knee in early April. Nader played a total of five minutes in Game 4 but is likely to see more playtime in future games. Payne returned to the court after suffering an ankle injury in the first half of Game 3 that sidelined him for the rest of that game. Payne played his usual role as the replacement for Chris Paul playing just under 20 minutes in Game 4.
The sign of a good team is being able to win games even if you have an off night, and that is exactly what the Suns were able to do. An ugly win will always be better than a pretty loss no matter what anyone says. There will always be fans of opposing teams that will try to discredit the Suns' run in these playoffs by saying that we never faced a fully fit team. That isn't our fault. We can't control the health of the teams that we play against. The Suns were told to go out and play against the team that they were matched up against and played their style of basketball regardless of who it was. I am still trying to convince myself that the Suns are ONE win away from making the NBA FINALS after beingthe worst team in the NBA just three years ago.
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