The Phoenix Suns continued their dominant playoff run with a commanding Game 1 victory in the NBA Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Phoenix was in clear control for almost all of the contest.
Their Big Three of Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and Deandre Ayton led the way to a 1-0 series lead.
Paul finished with 32 points, nine assists, and four rebounds on 12-19 shooting.
Booker still racked up 27 points and six assists on a rough 8-21 shooting night.
Finally, Ayton had a historic night with 22 points and 19 rebounds on 8-10 shooting.
With all three stars doing more than pulling their weight, there is not too much Suns fans can complain about.
It appears that there is not a single team that can stop the red hot run the Suns have been on.
They have competed and defeated most of the top teams in the league this season.
Phoenix has managed to take down the Los Angeles Lakers in six games, the Denver Nuggets in four games, and the Los Angeles Clippers in six games.
They seem to be on a one-way trip to a Finals victory for the first time in franchise history.
Along with this, it would establish the Suns as one of the teams to beat for years to come.
It would give Paul his first championship in his 16-year career.
Also, a championship victory would establish Booker and Ayton as top young stars and one of the top duos of the future.
However, there is still a lot of series left to play and if certain players do not step up, there is a chance the Bucks could pull off a comeback and send the Suns home just short of becoming NBA champions.
Jae Crowder
Jae Crowder is by no means the most important player on the Suns roster.
By no means does he need to be playing out of his mind for the Suns to bring home a title.
However, if he is able to play to the level he has during the regular season or the playoffs prior to Game 1, there would be little to nothing the Bucks could do to defeat them.
The main thing that Crowder brings to the team is being an elite three-and-D player.
He is capable of guarding almost anyone in the league and leads the Suns in three-pointers made this season.
In the regular season, Crowder was shooting 38.9 percent and in the playoffs he is shooting 35.2 percent from beyond the arc.
However, in Game 1, he shot an awful 0-8 from the field and 0-5 from three.
Despite only scoring a single point, Crowder still had his effect on the game.
He pulled in nine rebounds and accompanied it with nine assists.
Along with this, he spent time guarding Bucks stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton.
Crowder also wound up having the best plus/minus among any player despite only scoring one point.
Jae Crowder scored 1 point on 0-8 shooting tonight.
He was +19, the highest +/- on the Suns. pic.twitter.com/LI94ko3H66
— StatMuse (@statmuse) July 7, 2021
This was rather shocking considering the great shooting year Crowder had coming into the Finals.
Along with this, Crowder was the only player on either team who has played in a Finals game prior to this season.
NBA Finals experience:
6 games — Jae Crowder
0 games — Everyone else combined(Submitted by @DeePee30) pic.twitter.com/9urfWGN5rX
— StatMuse (@statmuse) July 4, 2021
It is likely that Crowder simply had Game 1 jitters or simply an off shooting night.
However, if he is able to step up and become the lights out shooter he has established himself as this season, there is nothing stopping the Suns from being NBA champions.
NEXT: Grading Devin Booker's First Career NBA Finals Game