NBA playoffs 2022 - The 10 reasons the Phoenix Suns are the best team in the league right now

Among the 16 teams entering the NBA playoffs, one stands out: The Phoenix Suns are the best in the league, and their record proves it. Phoenix went 64-18 and finished eight games ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies atop the NBA standings.

That is the largest differential between the league's top two team records in a season since 1999-2000, when the Los Angeles Lakers finished eight games ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers. And while much of the media attention followed the dysfunctions of the teetering superteams in New York and Los Angeles, the Suns were busy dominating everyone.

The Suns enter the playoffs as the favorites to win it all. But what exactly makes them so good? Here are the top 10 reasons the Suns are the best team in the NBA right now.

The NBA75 celebration continues with the NBA playoffs, which began Saturday and run through June, when the league will crown a champion for its milestone season.

• The most important takeaways from Day 1 • What to know about all 16 playoff teams • Playoff predictions: Picks for every series • Pelton: Previewing Nets-Celtics in Round 1

At 36, Paul is playing some of the finest basketball of his career, and his unprecedented ability to decode and defeat every defensive coverage in the league provides this team with its most important offensive weapon.

Paul has now played the point for almost 40,000 minutes, and all that repetition has only sharpened his ridiculous basketball IQ. He led the league in assists this season for the fifth time in his career, and his penchant for creating clean looks for his teammates is a huge reason the Suns have an elite offense.

Phoenix scored 29.5 points per game off of Paul's passes alone, the highest mark in the league.

Between Phoenix general