The Suns are surprising us …
After falling behind 2-1 to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round, Phoenix Suns have won eight straight games in the playoffs, the longest streak in franchise history and the longest for any team since the 2017 Golden State Warriors, who opened the playoffs with a 15-0 record. They won the first game of the Western Finals without Chris Paul, who joined the team via FaceTime in the locker room after the game.
Those eight wins match the Suns’ total from last season’s bubble in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, where Devin Booker & Co. put the entire NBA on notice. Now, after their win over LA Clippers, they are just three wins away from reaching the NBA Finals for the first time since 1993. But even with Kawhi Leonard out of the game, you have to be aware that Paul George won’t go down without a fight.
Playing in the first conference finals game in Clippers history, George finished with 34 points, looking like the player who led the Indiana Pacers to back-to-back conference finals appearances in 2013 and 2014. His performance was just one of the things that caught the attention of our NBA experts in Game 1. Here’s what caught their eye and what it means for the series going forward.
Booker has what it takes to become a legend:
Remember when Booker’s lack of playoff experience came up in conversations about whether the Suns could be contenders?
Lesson learned: never question the awesomeness of a star who comes into games driving around in one of the cars in his collection.
Booker has been brilliant throughout the postseason. His performance in Game 1, when Phoenix needed him to fill the leadership void created by Chris Paul’s absence, was his best yet. Booker delivered the first triple-double of his career with 40 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, and no one can (or should) claim that these were empty stats, something that was a ridiculous knock he unfairly took during his days putting up big numbers on bad teams.
Booker scored or assisted on 43 of Phoenix’s final 50 points. That included all of his points during the critical stretch of the game, an 8-0 playoff run at the start of the final quarter. He also grabbed the defensive rebound before three of those Suns baskets. He scored twice in that stretch, knocking down a three-pointer and opening up for a mid-range jump shot after taking advantage of a screen. But his most impressive play came when he scooped up a loose ball after a long rebound, ran transition and found Cameron Payne for an open three-pointer.
It took Booker six years to reach the playoff stage with the Suns. But it’s safe to say the wait was worth it.
Don’t think of Paul George as a Robin
In the first four games of the Clippers’ Western Conference semifinal showdown against the Jazz, Leonard averaged 27.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists. It may come as a surprise to learn that in those same four games, George had almost exactly the same averages: 27.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists. This highlighted an interesting dynamic about the Clippers: they are not led by a traditional “Batman and Robin” duo. No, they have a pair of “Batmen.”
As such, with Leonard sidelined by a knee injury that has kept him out of the last three games, the Clippers aren’t faced with replacing their primary option. Instead, they’re really replacing the secondary production that George usually provides. Against the Jazz, they manufactured that production from their perimeter shooters by playing low and fast formations, taking advantage of Rudy Gobert’s lack of mobility. The Suns don’t have that particular weakness, so even though George scored 34 points, the Clippers didn’t get enough from those peripheral players to win.
Going forward, potentially even without Leonard, the Clippers don’t need to worry as much about George as the top point guard and commanding the ship, as he’s proven he’ll be fine. Instead, the question is whether Terance Mann, Reggie Jackson or one of the others can be a consistent and effective Robin. That’s the big question.
