The Phoenix Suns took a 3-1 lead in their first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday but they haven’t been all that impressive so far.
The Suns have found it extremely hard to beat the undermanned Clippers and Stephen A. Smith is concerned by what he has seen from them.
“I’m not happy with what I’m seeing,” Smith said on NBA Countdown. “Kevin Durant and Devin Booker are the top two dudes in minutes played, averaging 43.8 and 43.5 minutes respectively. That’s not going to cut it. Do you know that all five starters individually have more points than the entire Suns bench this series? The Suns bench has only registered 50 points this series against the Clippers in four games. I think that’s incredibly alarming, so much so, I’m going to say this. I am not picking this Suns team that I am watching to beat Denver.”
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The Suns were expected to win this series fairly comfortably with Paul George being out and once Kawhi Leonard also went down with a knee injury, they should have been able to brush aside the Clippers easily. Instead, the Clippers have given them a run for their money and it is hard to be very optimistic about their chances moving forward.
It has taken some incredible performances from Devin Booker, who has averaged 36.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 5.0 APG, 2.7 SPG, and 1.7 BPG in this series, to win these three games and he has had to play big minutes as Smith pointed out. Provided the Suns advance, they’ll face the Denver Nuggets, in all likelihood, in the Conference Semifinals and based on what we have seen from both teams so far, the Nuggets should be the favorites.
Kevin Durant Spoke About Kawhi Leonard’s Absence
Leonard’s injury firmly tilted the series in the Suns’ favor as he had averaged 34.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 6.0 APG, and 2.0 SPG in the first two games and had given Phoenix all they could handle. Kevin Durant said he was disappointed that Leonard is injured again and also praised him by admitting it is nerve-wracking to play against him.
It is a real shame that Leonard’s body just keeps breaking down and there is no timetable for his return. It seems very unlikely he will play in Game 5 and the Clippers’ season looks set to end on Tuesday.
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