The Phoenix Suns became one of the favorites to win the 2023 NBA championship when they traded for Kevin Durant. Acquiring Durant gave the Suns three Hall of Fame-caliber talents, and it seemed like all they needed to achieve the pinnacle of team success is to remain healthy. Alas, it seems like staying healthy for two grueling playoff months isn't quite an easy task, and the Suns can attest to this after they lost Chris Paul to a groin injury during their Game 2 loss to the Denver Nuggets.

As a result of this unfortunate groin injury, the Suns expect their veteran floor general to miss Games 3 to 5 of their second-round series, if the series even goes that far. With Paul out, the Suns may have to rely on backup point guard Cameron Payne more than they would prefer given their 2-0 series deficit, as this poses a specific kind of challenge for a team that's already facing an uphill climb.

As head coach Monty Williams pointed out, per ClutchPoints beat reporter Trevor Booth, the Suns will have to navigate the tricky balancing act of allowing Payne to play his game without taking away from what the team does well as a whole.

“For Cam, it's the balance of being who he is, but also recognizing the way we run our offense and getting other guys involved without taking away from his game,” Williams said.

Even then, Monty Williams thinks that it's not going to be a challenge given Cameron Payne's familiarity with the Suns system.

“We need his scoring, but the integration part is just part of it. It's the playoffs. I don't think there's gonna be any issue with it,” Williams added.

Payne has performed well with Chris Paul on the mend in the past. During the first few games of the 2021 Western Conference Finals, Payne performed exceptionally well to lead the Suns to a 2-0 series lead over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Of course, almost two years have passed since, and the Suns' current roster isn't what it was back then. Thus, it's unfair to expect Payne to play that well again. But the Suns may need him to do so for them to have a shot at extending the series for a potential Chris Paul return.