Game 5 of the NBA Finals was supposed to be Chris Paul‘s signature moment. Perhaps the high stakes got the better of him. So far, he’s failed to show up when the Phoenix Suns needed him most Saturday night.
Paul’s play, good or bad, has had a drastic impact on the Suns’ performance in the NBA Finals. He was terrific in Games 1 and 2 – 55 points and 17 assists combined – both of which just happened to be Phoenix wins. On the flip side, he wasn’t nearly as effective in losses in Games 3 and 4, combining for just 29 points and 16 assists.
The idea ahead of pivotal Game 5 was that Paul was simply just a much better player at home. But that didn’t appear to be the case Saturday night. Entering the fourth quarter, Paul had just 11 points and nine assists. Monty Williams even benched him during a key stretch of the third quarter.
What happened to the veteran superstar? That’s the same question NBA fans were asking during Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday.
Monty Williams had no choice pic.twitter.com/bz1XHR8SQ6
— J.A. Adande (@jadande) July 18, 2021
Just can’t win with Chris Paul playing like this.
— Jason Scheer (@jasonscheer) July 18, 2021
Chris Paul getting picked on defensively like he’s Kyrie Irving and it makes me sad
— Josh Eberley🇨🇦 (@JoshEberley) July 18, 2021
chris paul i’m begging you
— Shea Serrano (@SheaSerrano) July 18, 2021
You very rarely see the Bucks hunt out mismatches but Khris Middleton has been seeking out Chris Paul with regularity here in the second half.
— Kane Pitman (@KanePitman) July 18, 2021
You can’t ever count out the veteran point guard, though. He started to get it going in the fourth quarter when he hit a big-time three to pull the Suns within eight.
Chris Paul three cuts it to 8!
#NBA #RallyTheValley
pic.twitter.com/iIsV8e1FcT— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 18, 2021
If the Suns go on to lose Saturday night’s game, Chris Paul is a big reason why. What happened to the superstar point guard who’d been dominating the postseason so far?
Tune into ABC right now to catch the closing minutes of Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The Milwaukee Bucks currently lead the Suns 113-105 with just under six minutes remaining.
The post NBA World Reacts To Chris Paul’s Game 5 Finals Performance appeared first on The Spun.
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