Atlanta Hawks: The key to stopping the Phoenix Suns
The Atlanta Hawks take on the Phoenix Suns in the first game of their four-game Western Conference road swing against some of the best teams in the NBA last season. They need to take at least one win or they will return home on a six-game losing streak.
While this will not be the end of the world, it will make their task of a high playoff seed that much harder. Fortunately, there are a number of surprises throughout the Eastern Conference at the start of the season that has the potential to help the Hawks for later in the season.
However, as the old sporting adage goes, the Hawks need to take it one game at a time and the challenge before the Hawks is a pretty big one. The Suns lost in the NBA finals last season but have not been at that same standard this season, only holding a 4-3 record.
How the Atlanta Hawks can stop the Phoenix Suns
Devin Booker has led the Suns in scoring for most of his career. Then before Chris Paul got there he was asked to run the point as well. The best thing that happened for Booker and the Suns was the OKC Thunder trading the Point God to the Suns as he organizes that team so well.
The Suns were a good team in the bubble prior to Paul getting there in the shortened offseason due to Covid-19. However, he transformed them from a team that would have been a play-in contender to one of the best teams in the entire league last season.
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So the best way to stop the Suns is to pressure Paul on every possession. He has made a living eating this pressure but as he is a year older, hopefully, he is a step slower. Offensively, Trae Young needs to pressure Paul, and defensively, depending on who plays the two-guard, they need to press hard on Paul all game.