There is talk that the MVP is a race between Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokicwith Giannis Antetokounmpo hovering nearby. There is talk that Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum started a little late and that penalizes them, that the Lakers’ nonsense cannot bring LeBron closer to the award despite a longevity that already seems supernaturalthat injuries have minimized the options of Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry…Why is Devin Booker not talked about more?? In part, of course, because we could debate for hours and hours if the true reference of his team is him or Chris Paul. Also because, I’m afraid, the superiority of the Suns is so overwhelming that their crushing perfection makes little noise, it is taken for granted. not surprising.
And it’s not entirely fair: with 49 points and 10 assists, Booker led another tremendous victory (130-140) for the Phoenix Suns, this one in Denver. It is a team that always wants to win, every night. That there is no day in which you notice weight in the legs, laziness in the spirit, distractions in the rooftop. It is a happy team, which would play one game after another, stopping just long enough to drink some water. which is already mathematically, first in the regular phase, so they will have home court advantage in all the playoffs, play against whoever plays in the West and in some hypothetical Finals in which it is tremendously easy to imagine it. And what is it, after seven wins in a row, 60-14. With 81.1% wins, about to sign the best season in its history: 62-20 twicein 1992-93 (the Charles Barkley-Michael Jordan Finals) and 2004-05, the unforgettable team of the Seven Seconds Or Less who never played for the ring.
Chris Paul returned in Denver, not noticing much inactivity: 17 points and 13 assists. Without him, the Suns have signed a brilliant 11-4. That should boost the MVP candidacy of Booker, the great scorer of what is by far the best team in the NBA, right?no? Also the hunger with which he faces each game, like his team. Without ever turning their faces away, without justifying themselves in the endless cushion of advantage they have amassed over everyone. as if the whole world I owe them something, as if every day a small piece of the ring was decided. Sometimes it’s like this: habits, inertia, chemistry. Breastplate.
Was a great gamewith a playoff atmosphere and maximum intensity on the track. With extraordinary success of the two teams and final acceleration of the Suns, who suffered but knew how to do what they always do: resist when the wind blows against it, crush when it changes direction. The Nuggets were piling up errors. Adding losses, being too aggressive in defense, accumulating fouls… and they ended up bottomless, unable to follow a treacherous rhythm, which at times they had marked themselves. They are now 41-31, visibly tired. They are sixth in the West, already far from the Mavericks (two and a half games away) and with only one over the Wolves, who had lost the night before, also against the Suns. Both Nuggets and Wolves are fighting to cling to the playoffs and escape from the play in. Only one will get it.
Jokic finished with 28 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. For many minutes, he connected his team holistically, with success from Aaron Gordon (21 points) and Will Barton (17). Once again, and it is no longer news, the rookie appeared from the bench bones Hyland (22 points, 4 triples) and the Nuggets signed excellent minutes, especially if you value what they had in front of them. They ended up falling by inertia, ‘Cause games always seem to go on too long against the Suns. You can be better than them for ten minutes, twenty, sometimes thirty or more… But what?the 48? Those are big words. Paul coached, Booker executed and held his team as the Nuggets tried to break through. Mikal Bridges (22 points, 8/9 shooting) played at his usual surgical level, and DeAndre Ayton fought Jokic one day after devouring Towns. This team is tremendous, superb, on its own unique level: the best in the NBA. There are 60 victories already in 74 games: cotton does not lie.