A few weeks ago, Kevin Durant was traded away from the Brooklyn Nets to the Phoenix Suns in a shocking blockbuster trade. Durant, on Wednesday night, made his debut with Phoenix after nursing an injury over the last few weeks before returning to play against the Charlotte Hornets on the road.
With the NBA in its final full month of the regular season, there are basketball fans that are also willing to bet on March Madness, along with betting on the NBA. What does Kevin Durant’s debut mean for the Suns?
Scoring Problems
Kevin Durant scored 23 points, grabbed six rebounds, and recorded two assists in his debut with Phoenix. They won that game easily against the Charlotte Hornets 105-91. Yes, Charlotte is one of the worst teams in the NBA this season, but this is what the Suns were waiting for, his presence. Durant is going to be dropping more than 20 points on a night-to-night basis. He isn’t the only legitimate threat to score the basketball on this roster.
The other problem on this roster that other teams are going to have to deal with is Devin Booker. He scored 37 points, grabbed six rebounds, and recorded seven assists. Booker can also drop somewhere between 20-40 points a game in his sleep.
The point of the matter is that the Phoenix Suns will be scoring 50 or more points alone a night when Kevin Durant and Devin Booker are together. It is going to lead them to win a bunch of ball games. It is going to allow them to potentially climb up the standings in the Western Conference before the end of the regular season and into the postseason.
DeAndre Ayton can Dominate the Post
With opponents trying to focus on Kevin Durant and Devin Booker so much, there is an unforgettable gem on this Phoenix Suns basketball team. That happens to be big man DeAndre Ayton. He is one of the best centers in the league. Ayton can just own the paint and not worry about having to shoot shots from the outside.
The paint can be his home and can also move up and down the basketball floor. He is a rebounding machine for them and grabbed 16 in this contest. However, scoring 16 points in the paint seems to be a bonus for them because of all of the offensive talent they have.
DeAndre Ayton is going to benefit more than anyone else on this team moving forward. That’s what happens when you potentially have two top 10-15 players in the NBA on your roster. There are going to be chances he will get now that he may not have gotten before Kevin Durant arrived via trade.
Chris Paul can just Pass the Ball
Chris Paul doesn’t care about scoring because that isn’t his game at all. Paul wants to be the player that passes the ball into the post either to Ayton or the ball on the wings to Durant or Booker. Everyone knows they have a role on the Phoenix Suns, and we will see if Chris Paul will take any shots down the stretch.
He just scored two points but recorded 11 assists against Charlotte. Paul wouldn’t mind recording 15-20 assists a game for the rest of the season as long as it means winning an NBA Championship for this franchise. They were just in the NBA Finals two years ago before losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games.
A Serious Championship Contender
The Phoenix Suns are one of the betting favorites to win the NBA Championship. However, Phoenix may have a tough road to winning the whole thing. They need to find a way to get to either the three-seed or the two-seed. The Suns don’t want to deal with the likes of the Dallas Mavericks or the Golden State Warriors in the first round and then the Denver Nuggets in the second round.
Phoenix would rather face the Sacramento Kings or the Memphis Grizzlies in the second-round rather than what was just mentioned above. Anyhow, it is going to be tough, and it is better to see a team like Denver or the Los Angeles Clippers in Round 3 rather than the second round of the NBA Playoffs. Kevin Durant has made the Suns into a fearsome basketball team.
