The Phoenix Suns shocked the NBA when they went undefeated, 8-0, in the NBA bubble last season. Despite failing to qualify for the playoffs, the season should be considered a success because the team was able to increase its win percentage by 23% after finishing last in the Western Conference the year before.
The improvement of superstar Devin Booker played a major role in the team’s improvement, but the addition of point guard, Ricky Rubio, shouldn’t be overlooked. Rubio brought an element of ball distribution that the Suns haven’t seen in a long time, maybe even since the days of Steve Nash.
The Suns continued their positive momentum this off-season when they acquired Chris Paul via trade. They moved on from Ricky Rubio in the process, but Chris Paul represents a significant upgrade. Let’s take a look at how:
Rubio and Paul’s statistics were surprisingly similar last season, with the exception of Paul’s higher scoring average and Rubio’s edge in assists. Rubio’s 8.8 assists per game to Paul’s 6.7 represents an abnormality when considering each player’s career averages. It’s for that purpose that we will look at each player’s averages over the last 5 seasons to get a better idea of what to expect moving forward.
Here is how the two compare over the last 5 seasons:
| Chris Paul | Ricky Rubio | |
| Assists | 8.4 | 7.58 |
| DWS | 2.8 | 2.5 |
| DBPM | 1.76 | .62 |
| PPG | 17.88 | 12 |
| 3PM | 1.98 | 1.04 |
| TO’s | 2.42 | 2.62 |
| PER | 23.64 | 16.06 |
Legend: DWS = Defensive Win Shares, DBPM = Defensive Box Plus/Minus, PPG = Points Per Game, 3PM = 3-Pointers Made Per Game, TO’s = Turnovers Per Game, PER = Player Efficiency Rating
A few of the biggest takeaways when comparing the two are the advantages held by Chris Paul in scoring, efficiency, and defense. The league average for PER is 15 so Suns fans should be excited about Paul’s impact in that category. PER essentially boils down a player’s contributions into a single statistic. Paul’s scoring should take some pressure off Devin Booker and his defense will help offset Booker’s negative DBPM rating to round out the backcourt for Phoenix.
The Suns appear to have the pieces in place to compete at a high-level for the foreseeable future. Hopefully their days in the basement of the Western Conference are behind them.
*Stats courtesy of basketball-reference.com
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