Suns/Clips observations
The Phoenix Suns-Los Angeles Clippers first-round matchup has been absolutely nothing short of cinematic. Without a doubt the most close-knit series thus far in the NBA Playoffs led by heavyweight superstars Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard. With the series drawing dead after Tuesday night’s 123-109 Suns’ Game 2 victory, we’re in for a very long grueling first round.
After the lucrative haul to acquire future first-ballot Kevin Durant and an 8-0 record to close out the regular season no one could imagine the ceiling for such a fluid Suns’ offense featuring three of the deadliest mid-range shooters of their generation: Durant, Booker, CP3, and a unique offensively skilled big in Deandre Ayton. Ty Lue instilled numerous defensive coverages and matchups disguised in hopes to get the ball out of the hands of Durant and Booker. Those defensive mechanisms and versatile defenders thrown at the Suns’ two best players were part of the formula on the way to the Clippers stealing home court in Game 1. Kawhi Leonard’s scoring brilliance was on full display as he continues to prove to the world especially this time of year, he’s simply one of the best to ever play. The grit and relentless effort from point guard Russell Westbrook did wonders for a Clippers team that will be shorthanded two-way franchise cornerstone Paul George for the foreseeable future. Westbrook defended Durant, Booker, and Paul on a total of 59 possessions in Game 1 and held them to a total of six points on 29% shooting. His game-saving block on Booker proved the naysayers that even at this stage of his illustrious career he can be just as impactful in any facet of the game.
Leonard and Westbrook continued their two-way dominance into Game 2 to start but early foul trouble to Westbrook squandered an early lead and they entered halftime intermission tied at 59 apiece. An 18-point 3rd Quarter eruption from Devin Booker accelerated the momentum for the Phoenix Suns in the second half. Despite the Clips keeping it close until the final minutes, some late-game heroic shot-making from Chris Paul sealed a Suns W to tie the series even. Both Leonard (31 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and three steals on 55 FG%) and Westbrook (28 points, five rebounds, five assists, and two blocks on 56 FG%) paced and carried the Clippers on both sides of the floor but the rest of the starters combined for a total of 20 points on 6/23 shooting from the field. The only concern going forward for the Clippers is how they’ll be able to maximize center Ivica Zubac in the half-court. Westbrook has a long, impressive history of getting the most out of his big men teammates whether it was Serge Ibaka, Steven Adams, Anthony Davis, or Thomas Bryant specifically in pick-and-roll sets. Zubac was just 2 of 7 from the field in Game 2 after posting 12 points & 15 rebounds on 5 of 8 shooting in Game 1. His matchup against Deandre Ayton will heavily dictate the series. Since acquiring Russell Westbrook, he, Kawhi Leonard, and Ivica Zubac have spent 305 minutes on the floor together in the regular season and posted a team-best +/- (45) amongst three-man lineups of all Clippers. So, there’s a clearly established rapport amongst the three and with the numerous flexible wing defenders and shooters on the Clippers, Ty Lue can play with an assortment of different lineups the rest of the series. More importantly, running more pick and rolls with Zubac will give Westbrook a clearer path to the rim where he’s made a career of being incendiary in the paint. It’ll alleviate Leonard of being solely relied on to create in the half-court. The Clippers were third in the NBA in 3P% so collapsing on Westbrook in the lane may not be your main priority because he’ll find the shooters on the perimeter. Even during what was considered a “down year” for his standards he still put up more potential assists than Darius Garland, Ja Morant, LeBron James, and Giannis Antetokoumpo in 2022-23.
The questions looming around the Phoenix Suns after Game 1 were who outside of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker was going to be counted on to create scoring opportunities consistently in the halfcourt? Not to mention the Suns didn’t mortgage off their valuable and future assets in Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson to bring in Durant just for him to take five shots in the second half of a playoff game as occurred in Game 1. Some of that may be a result of the minimal time Durant spent on the court since arriving in Phoenix and or head coach Monty Williams’ approach in Game 1. As expected, Chris Paul who’s soon to be turning 38 years old isn’t quite the same shot creator as we’ll remember him to be even though he’s maintained impressive shot-making ability in this current twilight stage of his career. Cam Payne is currently out with a sore back. Tj Warren who’s displayed countless times his ability to put the ball in the basket has yet to play a minute this series. The rest of the Suns’ bench after that are mostly standstill stationary scorers that depend on creation from others. Torrey Craig has been the only unsung hero for a Phoenix Suns team that got just 10 points from their bench in Game 1 and 13 points from the same unit in Game 2. Craig through the first two games of the series is averaging just shy of 20 points and shooting 15 of 21 from the floor on 87.4% true shooting for the series. Even if Craig maintains such an outlier of a shooting clip someone else off the Suns’ bench will need to produce besides Durant and Booker. Of all players on both teams thus far Durant, Booker, and Paul are top four in minutes played. May not be too much to investigate but is a factor to monitor as the series goes along.
The mid-range mafia exposed Ivica Zubac repeatedly in drop coverage as Durant, Booker, and Paul continued to shoot into an ocean in the second half of Game 2. It’ll be interesting to see how Ty Lue will combat their dangerous attack. Nicolas Batum and Robert Covington are two of the intriguing players Lue may utilize to combat that attack using them as a small ball center in five-man lineup settings because of their superior quickness. Both Batum and Covington though a small sample size has spent time as a small ball five and Clips could still maintain their pace on both sides of the floor with their versatility to switch everything and stretch the floor.
The Clippers/Suns series has all the making of a classic seven-game first-round series. With the playoff coaching experience, superstar statures, defensive versatility, shooting, etc. This is without a doubt a series that every NBA fan should be glued to.