In the West, Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers are trying to stay alive and advance without the services of Paul George, who suffered an injury late into the regular season. In Game 1, Kawhi (along with the help of Russell Westbrook) helped the Clippers take a 1-0 lead and they’ll be looking to go up another game in Phoenix tonight.
While the Suns will no doubt come out playing aggressively, don’t expect the Clips to roll over. In fact, after hearing a courtside reporter claim that Phoenix will look to control the pace for Game 2, Russell Westbrook had to personally shut that down.
Russell Westbrook heard a news reporter saying that the Suns will try to set the tempo for the game and Russ said:
“Good luck… Good luck”
😂
(via @TomerAzarly)pic.twitter.com/t1baMEFXcr
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) April 18, 2023
Russ may not be what he used to be offensively, but he still attacks the rim with reckless force and his speed and strength clearly caused problems for the Suns in Game 1, who struggled to get the stops they needed down the stretch.
If the Clippers want to win Game 2, or any other game in this series, they will need a similar defensive effort from the entire team, and Westbrook will have to go full-speed to out-pace an older and slower Suns unit.
Can The Clippers Win This Series?
It remains to be seen how Phoenix will respond to the loss, but L.A. sent a message that they can go toe-to-toe against anyone in the West. The Suns must make adjustments if they want to avoid going to Los Angeles winless.
“We understand it is not going to be easy,” Booker said. “It gets harder from here. Thinking back to my first (playoffs), every loss is the worst thing ever, and with every win you are going to win the rest of them. That’s just how the playoffs go.”
No doubt, we will see the best from Booker, Durant, and the rest of the Suns as they gather their strength and use their updated game plan to fight back.
But no matter what happens or which team goes on to win, Russell Westbrook deserves credit for finding ways to be effective and help his team win games, even despite bad shooting numbers.
If he can find a way to control the game tonight and have the Suns play his brand of basketball, Russ can complete one of the greatest redemption arcs the NBA has ever seen.
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