More than a few folks out there believed that the Phoenix Suns were cooked after Chris Paul was diagnosed  with a left groin injury that will force him to miss Games 3 through 5 of their NBA Playoffs second-round matchup against the Denver Nuggets. Well, that clearly hasn't been the case with the Suns now tying the series 2-2 sans CP3.

If you ask Nuggets head coach Michael Malone, there's actually one significant silver lining to Chris Paul's injury absence. According to the Nuggets shot-caller, Phoenix has actually benefited in one particular area of their offense without their star point guard in the equation:

“This is not a shot at Chris Paul, because Chris Paul is one of the greatest to ever do it, but they’re playing so much faster right now,” Malone said, via ESPN's time MacMahon.

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As he said in his disclaimer, Michael Malone is not taking a jab at CP3 here. The Nuggets shot-caller is well aware of the fact that Paul is one of the greatest playmakers in the history of the game. However, he's also stating a fact here in that the Suns have been able to significantly increase the pace at which they play their offense in the absence of the 38-year-old veteran.

Chris Paul is still expected to sit out Game 5 on Tuesday, and it will be interesting to see how the Suns respond with the series now shifting back to Denver. Even more intriguing is how Chris Paul's eventual return will impact their style of play, in the case that he is able to come back for Game 6.