NBA Finals: Suns’ Chris Paul joins Michael Jordan in historic debut, leaves Bucks searching for answers

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Chris Paul has waited his whole life for a chance at the NBA Championship, and if Tuesday is any indication, he has no intention of letting it slip. Paul scored 32 points and nine assists in the Phoenix’s 118-105 first game win over the Bucks. Shoot 12v19 from the field, including a 4v7 from a 3-point range, and join fairly decent company in the process.

and this is:

If you only cared about the beginning of the game, you’d probably think Paul was getting nervous in his first final. He did not score in the first quarter. But closer examination revealed that he was getting the shots he wanted. Eventually, he was going to start making them. He scored 11 points in the second quarter and 16 in the third.

Pax tried to give him multiple looks. I cooked them all. Mike Budenholzer was more than willing to ditch his favorite coverage, and on Tuesday he actually tasked the big guys Brooke Lopez and Bobby Portes to turn into Paul and defend him one-on-one in space. Whether he’s pulling for 3 or skipping the adults to the edge, it didn’t look good for Portis.

Lopez did no better in the ocean.

Watch the first play in the next clip as Pau helplessly walks Lopez until he finds his sweet spot.

When the Bucks turned it up and went back to drop Lopez in the paint, Paul made his way in zigzag elbow jumps and late jumps to Ayton while Lopez stayed in no man’s land.

Although early in the series, you wonder what other plays Milwaukee has in defense of Paul, who can smell his first title and will be on offense the rest of the way. The most obvious move, apparently, would be small with Giannis in the center, but frankly, Giannis is at risk in space versus Paul as well.

Also, if Lopez and Portis are already played off the ground, that eliminates Milwaukee’s chances of beating Phoenix on offensive glass and Bryn Forbes and Pat Connaughton would turn into a chase anyway. At times, the Bucks tried to corner Paul, and he simply pulled Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday away from the basket before shooting a dime at the free-rolling Ayton for a dipping.

When Milwaukee stops the ball to confuse certain moves of Booker and others who pop off screens and roll Ayton, it doesn’t matter when Paul holds the ball and attacks any unlucky spirit guarding him. Long and short is this: The Bucks tried a series of tweaks in the first game, and they can’t seem to stop Paul from getting the shots he wants. Which means it’s a make-or-miss series. If Paul keeps making these shots, the Bucks won’t be able to stop him from getting it, the Sun will be in good shape.

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