Already severely undermanned coming in, the Phoenix Suns would lose Chris Paul after the start of the second quarter, making a valiant effort from what remained of the roster impressive, yet simply not enough in a 96-104 loss at home to the Miami Heat.
Time to dive into the details.
1.) Defense
In a sloppy game from both ends, the Miami Heat shot 52.5% from two, and 31.6% from three.
Only 19% of their shots came at the rim (they average 29% on the season), speaking to the overall level of containment of the ball from the Suns defensively.