“It was two instances of utter disrespect for the great Luka Doncic” - Nick Wright believes the basketball gods punished Chris Paul and Devin Booker for their behavior towards the Mavericks
Luka Doncic’s domination over Phoenix reads to Nick Wright as the basketball gods punishing Devin Booker and Chris Paul for their sour behavior towards the Dallas Mavericks.
Luka Doncic does the work of the basketball gods, eliminates Phoenix
Nick Wright said:
“It was two instances of utter disrespect for the great Luka Doncic.”
Wright outlined the first instance as when Chris Paul was asked about Luka scoring 45 points after Game 1. Paul responded by throwing a bit of shade at Doncic.
The next instance came after Game 2, when Paul and Booker were seen smirking and laughing about Luka at a press conference. What arguably sold the deal for Doncic was during Game 5, when Devin Booker reenacted ‘the Luka Special.’
Luka Doncic took Game 7 into his own hands, dealing Phoenix a blowout loss. Doncic finished the first half with the same amount of points as the entire Suns squad (27), an absolutely absurd statistic.
After last year's finals contenders were set to face Dallas, many believed the Suns were going to take the series because of the Mavericks' poor roster.
With Doncic as arguably the only reliable player on the squad, besting Devin Booker and Chris Paul looked to be a challenge. However, the pair of Paul and Booker started acting a little suspect towards Luka and Dallas.
Across the series, they displayed all types of antics, poking at the Mavericks during losses. The basketball gods then signed up to help lift Luka Doncic above the competition through his humble rise to superstardom.
Chris Paul finished Game 7 with only 10 points, four assists and one rebound in 31 minutes of play. Known as “the point god,” numbers like these fall short of what Paul is capable of.
Devin Booker, a notable offensive force for the Suns, was also disappointing. Booker finished with only 11 points, three rebounds and two assists. Phoenix’s star big man, Deandre Ayton, finished with just four rebounds.
Booker, Paul, and Ayton finished the game with 26 points, eight rebounds and eight assists between all three of them. Doncic finished the game with more points and rebounds alone.
At just 23 years old, Doncic has already appeared in 23 playoff games. Throughout those games he has averaged 32.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists. He is a machine.
The game was such a wreck for Phoenix that Spencer Dinwiddie could have not scored all 30 of his points and Dallas still would have won the game. There was in fact some punishment going on here. Whether it was from the basketball gods or Luka himself, the performance was surreal.
Everybody acts tough when they're up.