Game One: Chris Paul, Welcome to the Finals

This year's NBA Finals had to be, without question, the most anticipated in a long time. The reason: it's a completely different Finals this year. For a decade, NBA fans were accustomed to seeing LeBron James and/or Stephen Curry in the Finals. The two megastars actually faced each other four straight times between 2015 and 2018, leaving many NBA fans (myself included) immensely jaded. The NBA's lack of parity even led some fans to believe that the Finals was predetermined, but this year, it's totally different.

This year, we have the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks hadn't been in the Finals since 1974, and their only championship came in 1971. The Phoenix Suns had never won a championship, and their last Finals appearance came in 1993, which saw them as the third victims of the Chicago Bulls' first three-peat. Jae Crowder (PHX) is the only player with any NBA Finals experience, and that came last season as a member of the Miami Heat. This is the first Finals since 2010 not to feature either LeBron James or Stephen Curry. In a league that lives and dies by the superteam, we don't have any such thing this year. And it's an absolute breath of fresh air.

The main story, of course, is Chris Paul. Chris Paul had never made the NBA Finals. He had so many record setting numbers for a player who had never made the Finals. The closest he came was as a member of the Houston Rockets in 2018, which saw the Rockets lead 3-2 over the Golden State Warriors, only to lose Games Six and Seven in terrible fashion. In fact, Paul got injured in Game Six, and Game Seven was the infamous outing where the Rockets missed a whopping 27 straight three-point shots. Paul's wait continued, but it ended with the Suns winning Game Six of the Western Conference Finals over one of his former teams, the Los Angeles Clippers.

Paul's Finals debut got off to a shaky start--no points in the first quarter. Meanwhile, the story regarding the Bucks was Giannis Antetokounmpo returning from injury to play in Game One. The "Greek Freak" was also making his own Finals debut, and it was a good outing for him: 20 points, 17 rebounds. Of course, I have to mention Giannis at the line. We all know this. Giannis tends to take a long time shooting free throws, and it has recently led to opposing crowds counting the seconds every time he is at the line. I myself find it amusing, and regarding Giannis, he went 7/12 at the charity stripe.

But back to Paul. His scoreless first quarter was followed by 32 in the next three! 32 points, nine assists in his first-ever NBA Finals game. The rumors of his rustiness have been greatly exaggerated. Paul's effort led the Suns to victory, a 118-105 final to put the Suns three wins away from their first NBA Championship. For Arizona sports, it would be their second overall in the four main leagues; the Arizona Diamondbacks' 2001 World Series win stands as the state's only main championship. In addition to Paul's efforts, Devin Booker contributed with 27 points, while Deandre Ayton had 22 of his own. On the Bucks' side, Khris Middleton's 29 points led the team, with Middleton also going 5/12 behind the three-point line.

What a start to the 2021 NBA Finals! Game Two is Thursday in Phoenix.

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