The Phoenix Suns will make their triumphant return to the Western Conference Finals, even doing so beside a team that has never made it this far: the Los Angeles Clippers. Ready for a Conference Finals built around two teams typically unaccustomed to its grand stage, this bout seems certain to go down as a dog fight, and one far more competitive than Phoenix’s prior series.
LA defeated the Utah Jazz in six games to book their spot, even after dropping their first two contests in the series. The Clippers showed their resilience after winning four straight contests, the last two without superstar forward Kawhi Leonard.
The Clippers now own the fourth best odds to walk away as NBA champions at +500. But the Suns certainly seem committed to spoiling LA’s chance to host another champion this summer, recently surpassing the Brooklyn Nets to post the best championship odds at +240.
Phoenix recently swept league MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, exciting their fans to an extent unseen since the days of Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire. Even amidst a positive COVID-19 test likely to sideline Chris Paul for Game 1, the Suns seem incredibly confident, still fueled by Devin Booker’s historic play and Deandre Ayton’s emergence as a true star.
Having secured the higher seed, the Suns own a home court advantage over the LA, taking effect with Game 1 set to tip off Sunday afternoon. Even though little time exists at this point to still rest and prepare, here are some takeaways the Suns can learn from the Clippers’ previous series, hopefully helping them win the Western Conference.
The Phoenix Suns need to play smart defense
The Clippers shot 46 percent from beyond the arc in their wins against the Jazz, and it rarely came from just one player. When LA goes with their small lineup, every player on the court is more than capable of knocking down a triple.
In Game 6 especially, the Clippers were awarded countless uncontested threes. It doesn’t matter if you’re a great shooter or not, if someone in today’s NBA has enough time to hit an open 3-pointer, they likely will.
Now, the Suns boast one of the best 3-point defenses in the league, and during this upcoming series they will need to keep up that effort. Taking away the 3-ball will be key for the Suns to keep pace with their high-scoring opponent.
The Clippers found success while driving into the paint and then passing the ball out to open 3-point shooters quite often against the Jazz. Staying patient and disciplined though can help disrupt this strategy.
Since Leonard went down his knee injury, forward Paul George has stepped up and been the primary option for Los Angeles. Looking to silence his critics, George has played exceptionally well thus far.
Suns forward Mikal Bridges will likely be tasked with guarding him. Getting under George’s skin and disrupting him early on could affect his mentality, as he has a recent history of meltdowns in important games. It’s something specific which Phoenix should focus on, while collectively looking to derail LA’s impressive offensive attack.
Phoenix Suns Center Deandre Ayton once again is key on both ends of the floor
Very wisely, the Clippers went small in order to keep Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert out of the paint during the Western Conference Semifinals. Standing in no man’s land, Gobert was unable to commit on closing out against LA’s multiple 3-point shooters during the entire series. This really hurt Utah in the long run.
Again going back to Game 6, Gobert got dunked and scored on numerous times, leading to a team low -24 net rating. Suns center Deandre Ayton may face a similar situation if he fails to play this one right.
Ayton however is more comfortable guarding all positions, and can play on the perimeter as well. He is quicker and more athletic than Gobert, thus giving himself more versatility as the anchor of Phoenix’s defense. Defending pick and rolls, and drive and kicks will be key for Ayton. The Suns too should be prepared to match a smaller lineup and adjust on the fly, something Utah could not do.
As a very efficient scorer, Ayton is also better offensively than Gobert, and the Suns should look to find him in the paint with a mismatch. Taking advantage of Ayton’s size on the offensive end can lead to countless easy points and offensive fluidity if the shots are not falling for Phoenix. He is simply too important to not game plan around both offensively and defensively.
The Phoenix Suns will need help from their role players
It’s hard to count this against the Jazz, but besides All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, nobody on the team could create their own shot, especially with point guard Mike Conley injured. The Jazz were a great 3-point shooting team during the regular season, but running a lot of iso-ball with Mitchell and relying on strictly 3-pointes are not sustainable strategies in the playoffs. Utah could not find other options besides shooting a ton of threes in this series, and it cost them in the end. Phoenix will have to balance their mid-range shots along with their shots from downtown if they want to avoid a similar fate.
Suns guard Devin Booker has not had to carry the offensive load for Phoenix in the regular season like in years past, and in the playoffs, that trend has continued. Besides occasional scoring outbursts, Booker has not had all the pressure on him to score during his first playoff venture.
This past Jazz and Clippers series saw Mitchell continue to put up fantastic scoring averages, but he still fell short. History shows that the hero ball strategy is not effective.
Evident when Leonard missed the final two games due to injuries, other Clippers answered the call, making up for his missed scoring and leading to victories. In order to advance to the Conference Finals, the Suns will also need to find some inspiration from their other players.
Getting good production from unexpected team members can turn the tide in Phoenix’s favor. In the first round, Jae Crowder answered the call and helped push Phoenix across the line, averaging 14 points in the last three games against the Los Angeles Lakers. Playing against the Denver Nuggets, Paul showed up too, averaging 25 points and 10 assists per game. Someone else will have to step up in this series, and it cannot just be Booker, that is if Phoenix wants to make it to the NBA Finals.