What’s next in the Western final?
The NBA’s Western Conference finals showdown between the Phoenix Suns and LA Clippers will begin without two of the league’s biggest stars.
Suns point guard Chris Paul, who remains in the league’s health and safety protocols, has been ruled out for Game 1 (3:30 p.m. ET Sunday on ESPN+) and Clippers small forward Kawhi Leonard did not travel with the team to Phoenix as he continues to deal with a sprained right knee.
Still, not to worry: there’s plenty of star power starting this series, and maybe even a star in the making.
What does Terance Mann, who just scored 39 points in the Clippers’ shutout win over the Utah Jazz, have to play at that level when he replaces Leonard? Can Paul George continue to lead Los Angeles after living up to his “Playoff P” moniker during the West semifinals?
And after a bye week, will Devin Booker deliver like he did in the series wins over the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets?
Our experts are analyzing each team’s path to the series and the keys that could decide who makes it to the NBA Finals.
How did the Suns get here?
The road to their first Western Conference Finals since 2010 might have looked easy, but for the Suns it turned out to be tougher than it looked.
The Lakers appeared in the first round as the scariest possible No. 7 seed, a cruel reward for Phoenix’s best regular-season finish in more than a decade. The matchup against LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the defending champs felt at first like a potential recipe for an early and frustrating exit, as well as an unfortunate ending that prevented a proper assessment of just how good this team really was.
The Suns were down 2-1 in that series, and with Paul’s shoulder injured, it looked like the basketball gods had a problem with the point guard. But his shoulder got better while the Lakers’ health took a turn for the worse as Davis battled a groin issue. Phoenix turned the series around, winning Game 4 away to even the series, setting the table to hand the defending champs a pivotal loss in Game 5 and, finally, the Game 6 clincher with Devin Booker’s confirmation as a true superstar when he scored 47 points.
With the Nuggets and league MVP Nikola Jokic next, Paul’s physical improvement was pivotal. All he did was split Denver in one of the most ruthlessly efficient performances in history. The 36-year-old point guard averaged 25.5 points on 62% shooting (58% from 3), didn’t miss a free throw and had a 41-5 assist-to-turnover ratio for the series. The Suns were dominant, winning the first three games by an average of 18.6 points. Jokic tried everything in Game 4, but it was too late to avoid the sweep.
Now the Suns and Paul are back in the realm of uncertainty – Paul remains in the league’s health and safety protocols. He will return for the series at some point, but it’s a question of when and where the situation will be. Phoenix’s youngsters have been impressive so far, but they, along with Booker, will need to grow more than ever as they await Paul’s return.
How did the Clippers get here?
Last postseason, the Clippers couldn’t close out the series against Denver, collapsing under the full weight of playoff pressure on the bubble after taking a 3-1 series lead to the Nuggets. This year, the Clippers have changed.
They are now the ones making historic comebacks, breaking through a half-century of heartbreak, playoff collapses and cursed seasons. They did it Friday when they won Game 6 at Staples Center to reach their first Western Conference Finals in franchise history.
And the Clippers are here to scorch Phoenix for Game 1 because they simply refuse to wilt, no matter how hot things get. The Clippers are the first team in NBA history to overcome a 2-0 deficit in multiple series in the same postseason.
They squandered the first two games at home to Dallas in the first round, and lost 30-11 in the first quarter of Game 3 in Dallas before coming back and taking four of the remaining five games to win the series in seven.
