Phoenix Suns-Los Angeles Clippers
Over/Under: 215
Spread: PHX -1
Western Conference Finals
Game 6
As stated during the last preview for this series, Marcus Morris needed to step up and especially once Ivica Zubac was ruled out last game, it all came down to him and he came through by scoring 22 points. Reggie Jackson had 23 points, but, it was Paul George who led the way scoring 41 points and grabbing 13 rebounds to keep the Clippers in this series. Even DeMarcus Cousins came through scoring 15 points in 11 minutes. The Clippers shot 54.8 percent from the field. The Suns just couldn’t keep up with the Clippers pace despite Devin Booker scoring 31 points. The biggest mystery was Deandre Ayton from last game because he only scored 10 points for Phoenix and once the Clippers lost their size when Zubac was ruled out, more efforts should have been made to force the ball inside, especially when Jae Crowder nor Mikal Bridges don’t provide much offense.
Injuries:
*Kawhi Leonard-Out
*Ivica Zubac-Questionable
*Serge Ibaka-Out
MVP/CAPTAIN
Paul George- With Kawhi Leonard still out of action there’s no reason why we should expect George to play fewer than 40 minutes. George hit 15 of 20 shots last game and the Clippers will do everything they can to get the ball in his hands. It’s very encouraging seeing George frequently work the elbow and his hesitation dribble allows him to use his agility to avoid contact in the lane and get to the basket for a scoop. Besides pulling down 13 rebounds, George dished 6 dimes and swiped 3 balls. It’s hard going with any other option for the CPT spot tonight. George should take 20-23 shots and he’s actually grabbed at least 13 rebounds in each of his last 3 games. He’s dished six or more dimes in each of his last four games and he’s grabbed steals in four of his last five contests. It was very encouraging seeing him shoot 75 percent from the floor after hitting 43.5 percent once in his previous 4 games. He’s safe and does enough in other stat-categories to give him a safe production floor thus making him the safest and most logical leader for your lineups.
Devin Booker- As encouraging as it was seeing Booker have his second highest scoring game of the series last game, besides shooting at least 40 percent from the floor, investors will need his to grab boards and steals. He’s grabbed at least four boards in all but one game in the series. He’s posted back-to-back multi-steal outings and even with Chris Paul healthy, he can still give us a few cheap dimes. He’s taken 21-22 shots in each of his last 3 games and we know that he’ll get the minutes and shots tonight. His mask clearly isn’t impacting him and that worries me at times with shooters from distance because sweat and the condensation that can form could impact a players vision even slightly, but Booker shot nearly 41 percent, his best shooting performance since the first game of this series.
FLEX PLAYS
Chris Paul- Paul hasn’t been as productive this series as he was towards the end of the Suns series versus Denver but he hasn’t taken fewer than 19 shots in each of his last 4 games. Paul should once again play between 35-40 minutes and he’s dished 8 or more dimes in 2 of his last 3 games. Paul has grabbed steals in four of his last five games. He had shot miserably in this series prior to the fifth game of the series. Last game Paul shot over 42 percent. He unfortunately is a bit too risky to make a CPT until he proves himself. It’s hard to rely on him for any consistent rebounding production and if he’s not going to score 20 points, he’ll need to grab a few steals. Paul won’t force up stupid shots because he is a smart, team-oriented player and will put more focus on setting up his other teammates rather than take lower-percentage shots. Expect him to take 19-23 shots tonight.
Reggie Jackson- Jackson has been a savior for the Clippers this series because of his consistent scoring. Jackson has shot under 46.7 percent from the field in just 1 game in this series. He’s scored 20 or more points in 4 of his last 5 games and he’s not just shooting three-pointers. We’ve seen Jackson have plenty of room to attack the rim and he’s thrown-down strong dunks and when you see guards like Jackson throwing down strong dunks it shows that the Suns will sacrifice the lane if they have to in order to keep George contained on the perimeter. Jackson has also grabbed five or more boards and a steal in four of five games in this series. He’s been very reliable and we can expect him to hover around 40 minutes of playing time and he should take 17-20 shots tonight. The Clippers haven’t had a lot of players that they can rely on for strong jump shooting. Nicolas Batum and Luke Kennard aren’t consistent and Terance Mann let down last game hitting only two of his eight shots. Jackson has proven to be a very safe option.
Deandre Ayton- Ayton has produced three double-doubles in this series, but, his scoring last game was shockingly low. He only took nine shots and it made absolutely zero sense. The reason that Ivica Zubac was given a major boost of minutes in this series was to keep Ayton at bay and he did a pretty poor job of it so when he gets ruled out giving Ayton a major height advantage, you would think that more plays would be called for him in the post? NOPE! Major fail by the Suns and they should have exploited the Clippers in the post and now the Clippers have life. Ayton has blocked shots and grabbed steals in each of his last four games. We don’t know what the status of Zubac is, but Ayton has done a great job of using his body to get to the top of the paint and score from there. He hasn’t been reckless in the playoffs and isn’t getting crushed by fouls. Ayton must score at least 15 points tonight if the Suns are going to win. They need more support on offense than their getting. It’s been mainly their backcourt carrying them with minimal help from their starting wings.
Marcus Morris- Welcome to the postseason Marcus! After scoring 22 points, let’s go back to the well and see if he can have 2 impactful playoff games in a row. Morris took 16 shots and whether Zubac plays or not, the Clippers should continue setting him up and screening him out at the elbow. Morris hit just two three-pointers last game and he’ll be left open when George draws a double-team on the opposite side of the paint. Morris took 16 shots last game, more than any other game this series, and he hit 56.3 percent of his shots. Beyond George and Jackson, the Clippers haven’t been getting much help with scoring and Morris could step up and be that third shooter if he can knockdown his shots. The key for Morris is staying inside the arc. He can also call for the ball in the post. The Clippers should be smart and set him up at different spots on the floor to keep the Suns defense moving.
Ivica Zubac- There are a few questions with Zubac because not only do we need to be concerned with whether or not he suits up, but we also have to be concerned how active he’ll be in this game. Remember, the Clippers won without Zubac last game, but prior to missing last game, Zubac had produced three straight double-doubles. Both Zubac and Ayton were producing against each other and Los Angeles can use the size inside. Zubac plays better defense than Cousins. We’ll need him in their for at least 25 minutes tonight. Watch to see if any reports come out about whether or not he’ll play on a limited basis tonight.
DART THROWS
Cameron Johnson- The Suns HAVE to find a way to get Johnson more shots. Despite the sample size when it comes to shot-volume being a lot smaller than other Suns players, Johnson has shot at least 50 percent from the field in every game this series. Johnson has scored in double figures and grabbed at least four boards in all but one game this series. He’s even grabbed steals in three of five games in this series. Johnson has been utilized as a bailout option and continues seeing open looks and rather than make things harder for themselves, the Suns should look to feature him a bit more. They’ve had cold shooting games and Johnson continues to get the job done hitting open shots from the arc. He has speed as well and can attack the rim if the lane is open. Featuring him more on the arc can cause the defense to surrender the paint a bit thus leaving more openings inside for Ayton. Johnson has played 23 minutes or more in every game this series except for the fourth game.
DeMarcus Cousins- This is a bit of a risky dart because we don’t know about Zubac’s status yet. If Zubac plays without any known limitations, Cousins becomes powerless because he is a liability on defense despite him helping out on offense. Cousins has played over 10 minutes twice this series, and in both of those games, he took 10 or more field goals and scored in double figures in both games. If Zubac is out, we can expect 10-15 minutes out of Cousins and if the Clippers are down 10 to 12 points and can’t make up any ground throughout the game, Cousins may be called upon to provide more offense. It’s very telling when he gets 12 shots in 11 minutes like he did last game. He’s what we call “instant offense”, but, as I keep mentioning, the Clippers don’t have a strong group of reliable scorers and with the season on the line once again and a banged up big man, Cousins gives them size and could be utilized more again.