Phoenix Suns over Philadelphia 76ers in 6
We will actually get this match-up on Tuesday as each team faces off in their second to last game with quite a bit on the line. The Suns’ postseason hopes and the 76ers playoff seeding.
A healthy 76ers team is probably too much for the Suns to handle in a seven-game series, even right now, but a Philadelphia team with no Ben Simmons or Joel Embiid is extremely beatable.
Bridges and Cam Johnson switch off defending Tobias Harris and Josh Richardson and Ayton is able to step out and contest Al Horford’s jump shots and use his superior athleticism to dominate the glass.
Phoenix Suns over Indiana Pacers in 6
We just got an opportunity to see this last week as a red-hot Indiana Pacers team and highly motivated T.J. Warren playing the best basketball of his career and facing off with the team that essentially traded him for nothing last off-season couldn’t handle the bubble Suns, losing 114-99.
I think this Pacers team would have been too much for the Suns with a healthy Domantas Sabonis as his skill, strength, physicality, and rebounding have been an issue for Deandre Ayton. With no Sabonis though, Ayton wins the match-up with Myles Turner, Booker is clearly the best player in the series, Bridges makes life difficult for Warren, and the Suns’ superior depth shines through.