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After winning the first game of the Western Conference finals, the Phoenix Suns will attempt to take a 2-0 series lead when they host the LA Clippers on Tuesday night.
The Suns will be without star point guard Chris Paul for the second game in a row, which will make this Game 2 a challenge. Phoenix has been great so far, both in the regular season and the playoffs, where they beat the Lakers 4-2 and swept the Nuggets (albeit both teams were missing star players). They won the first game against the Clippers 120-114 on the back of a marvelous 40 point triple double by Devin Booker.
The Clippers somehow managed to reach the first conference finals in franchise history even if they played the last two games of the Jazz series without Kawhi Leonard (who is still out and might be done for the season). The Clippers were quite remarkable in these playoffs, coming back from 0-2 down against Dallas (losing the first two at home!) and then getting past the first seeded Jazz despite Kawhi’s injury. The mental strength of this team has been something to shout about.
Injury report: One huge absence for each team, Paul for the Suns and Leonard for the Clippers, just like in Game 1. Ibaka is also out for LA, but that’s nothing new. Marcus Morris should be healthy for them after only playing 21 minutes in Game 1.
Listen, the Suns have been a better team than the Clippers this season, but I really fancy LA here.
Phoenix is still a good team without Chris Paul, but they are not the same. He’s the kind of guy who takes over a franchise and has the entire gameplan build around him, and so when he’s out, things have a tendency to break down. Not to mention the impact of his leadership and experience on a young Suns team which is not used to playing on this stage. His absence is felt beyond just his star quality as a player.
Phoenix did win Game 1 without Chris Paul, but they needed a magnificent performance by Booker to barely edge it. They also shot 55% from the field compared to 45% shooting by the Clippers, who only got 20 minutes from Morris.
It felt like the Suns needed something extraordinary to edge that game against a Clippers team which played their usual basketball. If the shooting balances out, the Clippers seem less reliant on individual performance and better equipped to be aggressive and get to the line.
Obviously we are talking about a Clippers team which misses Kawhi Leonard who is a better player than Chris Paul, and on paper his absence should hurt LA more. However, they have been brilliant without him, managing to win two in a row against the first seeded Jazz, and playing well against the Suns too. The Clippers are deep, Ty Lue is making great adjustments, and fact is they can deal with Kawhi’s absence better than the Suns can deal with Paul being out.
The Clippers have been exceptional on the road in these playoffs, they are full of confidence after their heroics in these playoffs, and I feel they have what it takes to even the series at 1-1. I find a lot of value in the odds on a straight up Clippers win, so that’s what I am going to bet here. Prediction: Phoenix Suns – LA Clippers 111 – 117.
Pick: Clippers
Odds: 2.88 @ 1xBet
Stake: 7
Possible profit: 13.16
Event date: 23 June
