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#3 The rise of Deandre Ayton
As discussed in an article prior to the playoffs, there was a lot of hope among Phoenix Suns fans that Deandre Ayton could be one of the breakout stars of this year's postseason. The 6'11", 22-year-old hasn't disappointed them.
Ayton has averaged 16.2 points and 11.8 rebounds while shooting at a stellar rate of 70% from the floor in the playoffs, all of which are higher than his regular season stats. He gave the LA Lakers all kinds of problems, scoring over 20 points in the opening three games of that series.
He has recorded five games of 15+ rebounds, including bringing down a staggering 22 boards in game four against the Clippers to go along with 19 points. In that series, he upped his output when it mattered most, averaging 17.8 points and 13.7 rebounds. He also had arguably the highlight of his career so far when he dunked on Ivica Zubac for the game two winner.
#4 Phoenix Suns' home court advantage
Although home court advantage has been a bit blurred in the NBA playoffs, the Phoenix Suns have been largely good in front of their home crowd.
They are 6-2 in their arena, losing once to the Lakers and once to the Clippers. Against the latter as well as the Denver Nuggets, the Suns won both their opening contests at home, which they will need to do against the Milwaukee Bucks in the Finals.
During the regular season, the Phoenix Suns had the fourth-best home record and won the most games on the road among all the teams in the league.
#5 Devin Booker
Aside from Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker is the other star player who could decide this series. The 24-year-old shooting guard has been electric in his postseason debut, averaging 27 points and 6.4 rebounds while shooting at 44% from the field and 91% from the free-throw line.
He has had seven 30+ point games so far, including two above 40 and has shown up in clutch contests. In the critical game six against the LA Lakers, Booker put up a whopping 47 points and 11 rebounds. Then, with Chris Paul sidelined in game one against the Clippers, he recorded a 40-point triple-double.
