Phoenix...

[Quake Griffin]

Thoughts?
Issues?

[og15]

Ayton will be a tough guy to go small ball against as he's a much more capable offensive threat than Gobert. Defensively he's also quite good at moving his feet.

The Suns have a good amount of length and many wing options which also means they can match a small ball lineup by sticking a guy like Cam Johnson at C. It also means they have options to put on PG defensively.

I liked this matchup pre-injury to Kawhi, because the Clippers multiple wings made it tougher for them to rest Booker defensively (he competes there now, but teams still like to give their guys a breather). The emergence of Reggie Jackson also means there's a guy on the court to make CP3 work when he returns and Reggie can get his against the smaller CP3 in terms of being able to shoot over him.

[Captain Ballmer]

Booker will be an interesting(in difficult way) matchup. He's like consistent version of THJ-Clarkson whom we had problems dealing with when they hot.
It's really tough to predict the series with Cp3&Kawhi situations.

[MartinToVaught]

The Suns remind me of the 2007 Rockies. Weird comparison, I know, but hear me out.

Going into that season, the Rockies hadn't made the playoffs in over a decade, but it all came together as a result of good drafting (Tulowitzki, Holliday, Jimenez) and savvy veteran leadership (Todd Helton). They got insanely hot in the playoffs, beating the Phillies in 5 and sweeping Arizona, and earned a long layoff between the NLCS and the World Series. That proved to be their undoing, as by the time they finally started playing again, their bats had cooled down and they couldn't beat the Red Sox.

Similarly, I think all the time off might be bad for the Suns. They were on such a roll, but now they've had time to cool off.

[LamarWho]

Chris Paul - How many games is he gonna miss? This is the biggest key here, I am assuming at least game 1? He had a phenomenal series against DEN. His PnR mid range game destroyed the Nuggets, we'll need our small ball lineup to slow that down.

Booker - Their best scorer, but he CANNOT possibly play any better than Luka and Mitchell against us.

Ayton - Can we keep using the small ball lineup against him? Can we get away with having Batum/Sr. guarding him? Much better scorer than Gobert but he isn't exactly Embiid in the low post. Defensively he's nowhere near the same rim protector as Gobert. Despite Gobert getting destroyed defensively last night by our small ball, I think for majority of the series, he did a good job deterring us from going into the paint.

Role Players - They got guys that can defend. PG will probably get different looks throughout the game. One guy to watch out for is Cameron Payne. He's been a sneaky lil bastard in the post season so far.

[NippySudz]

They don't really shoot as well as Utah or as many threes. I honestly think even without kawhi we can make it to the finals.

I'll still like to see kawhi back in this series to get his rhythm. Kawhi is our key to the ring of course.
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[Bobbymcgee]

Clippers need to stay disciplined and keep to their game. Remain patient, make the extra pass, and keep swinging the ball around to the open man. Morris needs to be more consistent and I mean in a good way.

[clipperlover]

I will not be surprised if we sweep them (with or without Chris Paul). I don't think they have anyone on that roster that has played in the NBA Finals and they have yet to face any real playoff adversity. They were on the verge of going down 3-1 in the 1st round when AD got hurt. When you get to this level, it isn't just about talent, but about the moment and seizing it. The ability to value each possession and overcome mistakes.

Roster Experience: Edge Clippers - We have a roster full of players that have not only played in the NBA Finals, but have started games in a conference Finals. Guys like PG, Reggie, Morris and Patterson have all made it to the conference finals and lost in 6 or 7. PBev was injured and sat out while his Rockets lost in the WCF. Rondo, Boogie and Kawhi have all been past this round.

Coaching Experience: Edge Clippers - We have a bench full of coaches that have either been here or father as a player or as a coach. Will their coaching staff be able to adjust to the moment.

Ty Lue and Chauncey know how important taking Game 1 will be. If they can put the Suns on their heals to start the series, then we can get them overthinking and forcing mistakes.

We have Mann who is young, but we have enough voices around him that I am not worried about the stage being too big for him. Kennard looked hesitant last night and made some dumb fouls in the 4th. So, I am not sure how much time he gets in the WCF. Hopefully, he turns into this year's Tyler Herro.

[mttwlsn16]

Ezpz. Clips in 3

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[LamarWho]

I would not underestimate the Suns. Yes on paper they don't look as intimidating as Brooklyn or Milwaukee. But they play very well together as a unit. As far as experience goes, guys like Booker, Bridges and Ayton haven't shown that's an issue so far in the postseason. I guess we'll see.

[og15]

I would not underestimate the Suns. Yes on paper they don't look as intimidating as Brooklyn or Milwaukee. But they play very well together as a unit. As far as experience goes, guys like Booker, Bridges and Ayton haven't shown that's an issue so far in the postseason. I guess we'll see.

Without Kawhi, the Suns defense becomes my worry. The Jazz defense depended on Gobert cleaning up behind everyone, their individual perimeter defenders were not adequate. The Suns on the other hand have multiple above average to good perimeter defenders and are not reliant on their big.

This was the one game player without Kawhi:
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/202104280PHO.html

Of course Paul played in the game, and the difference in the game ended up being primarily from the first quarter. Clippers are not out of this, even with CP, they can match up with the Suns, but fatigue can rear its head.

[mttwlsn16]

I would not underestimate the Suns. Yes on paper they don't look as intimidating as Brooklyn or Milwaukee. But they play very well together as a unit. As far as experience goes, guys like Booker, Bridges and Ayton haven't shown that's an issue so far in the postseason. I guess we'll see.

The Bucks would scare me absolutely zero. Just make Giannis shoot and it's game. Over for them. They've choked hard in the playoffs every year for the past several.

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[nickhx2]

I would not underestimate the Suns. Yes on paper they don't look as intimidating as Brooklyn or Milwaukee. But they play very well together as a unit. As far as experience goes, guys like Booker, Bridges and Ayton haven't shown that's an issue so far in the postseason. I guess we'll see.

Without Kawhi, the Suns defense becomes my worry. The Jazz defense depended on Gobert cleaning up behind everyone, their individual perimeter defenders were not adequate. The Suns on the other hand have multiple above average to good perimeter defenders and are not reliant on their big.

This was the one game player without Kawhi:
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/202104280PHO.html

Of course Paul played in the game, and the difference in the game ended up being primarily from the first quarter. Clippers are not out of this, even with CP, they can match up with the Suns, but fatigue can rear its head.

yeah, the suns are scary, because of that. gobert being exploitable is one thing, when they don't have enough defensive wings to cover that up.

my biggest issue is that our small ball lineup is our best weapon, but it's missing kawhi, and its success is somewhat predicated on the opposing big man being unable to exploit us. now, rudy gobert is never gonna scare anyone on that side of the ball. but deandre ayton will be able to dominate on boards and running to the rim in a way that might nullify that strategy.

[Quake Griffin]

Shams has CP out tomorrow.

[Vae Victus]

Ayton will eat our smallball lineup alive. See the damage he did against the Lakers, it'll basically be that.

Zubac will be playing at least 24 min a game, with Morris getting the rest of the C mins when we go small. We'll just have to learn to live with Ayton feasting for the time that Zubac is sitting. Zubac wont stop Ayton, but he'll at least make him work harder for his buckets.

Clips gotta keep up their insanely hot shooting and hope CP3 misses a coupla games.

Honestly if i'm the Clips, i would appeal to the NBA commish that CP3 cannot play until he gives like 2-3 straight days of not being infected with CoVid. Basically i want to knock CP3 out for at least 2-3 games. No CP3 is a HUGE blow for the Suns, and at this point, i'm not above hoping for a "cheap" series win, since Kawhi is basically out to at least the Finals in the best case scenario.

[mttwlsn16]

Ayton is a damn good player but our defense is miles better than the garbage he faced during the flakers series.

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[og15]

Ayton is a damn good player but our defense is miles better than the garbage he faced during the flakers series.

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Defense was one of the things the Lakers did well, even without Davis, but Davis was there and healtheir in game 1-3. Ayton had 21/16, 22/10 and 22/11 in games 1, 2 and 3 with Davis dropping 30+ in games 2 and 3. The Suns actually ended up going to him less without Davis. In the last 3 games with Davis injured, then out, Ayton averaged 10/9.

So I'm not necessarily "worried", but I'm not, not worried