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Clippers vs Suns Preview: A Tough Divisional Matchup
The Clippers can’t dwell too long on their loss to the Nuggets in their last game, as they have another very challenging road matchup tonight against the rival Suns.
Game
Information
Where: Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, Arizona
When: 5:00 PM PT
How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570
Projected
Starting Lineups
Clippers: James Harden – Kris Dunn – Kawhi Leonard – John Collins – Ivica Zubac
Suns: Collin Gillespie – Grayson Allen – Royce O’Neale – Dillon Brooks – Mark Williams
Injuries
Clippers: Bogdan Bogdanovic Questionable (Hamstring), Derrick Jones Jr. Out (Knee), Bradley Beal Out (Hip), Chris Paul Out (Not with team)
Suns: Devin Booker Out (Ankle)
The Big
Picture
The Clippers’
good vibes took a hit on Friday night in an all-too-familiar loss to the Denver
Nuggets. It was a classic Clippers-Nuggets matchup, with the Nuggets largely
looking like the better team, getting shooting luck (Tim Hardaway Jr. went off
while the Clippers missed a ton of open looks), and receiving some favorable
calls. It all added up to a fairly resounding loss, but losing to the Nuggets
on the road with Jokic and Murray in the lineup (the Nuggets are missing some other
key players but so are the Clippers) is not a bad loss. The Clippers just need
to get the Nuggets out of their brain and focus on their upcoming games, which
aren’t walks in the park either.
The
Antagonist
This Suns season is perhaps the most inexplicable I can remember in my 15+ years of being a diehard NBA fan. When you look at their roster, even factoring in excellent seasons from Dillon Brooks, Collin Gillespie, and Grayson Allen, you think of a competent, decent team. The Suns are far, far better than that, with a 30-19 record that has them tied for 5th in the West and just a half-game out of 4th. Not only that, but the Suns’ advanced stats would indicate they are just as legit as their record, with a 15th rank on offense and 5th on defense. Jordan Ott has proved to be an ace in his first coaching season and has to be the frontrunner for Coach of the Year. Brooks is a fringe All-Star this season, Mark Williams has been healthy, Gillespie has been a steal, and Allen, Royce O’Neale, and Jordan Goodwin have provided solid role player contributions. It must be said that the Suns have had excellent health: outside of Jalen Green (who stinks), the only one of their top players who has missed real time is Grayson Allen, who has still played in 32 games. The rest of their top nine players in minutes per game have all logged at least 41 (out of 49) games played. Still, it’s been an incredibly impressive season by the Suns, who play hard, play cohesively, and are tough as nails.
Notes
Match the Toughness: The Suns have punked a lot of teams this year, and while the Clippers have had good teams in the Kawhi Leonard era, they certainly have not always matched teams in toughness. They can’t let the Suns bully them with physicality. There’s not much in Xs and Os here: the Clippers have to stand their ground, be physical with the Suns, and demonstrate more energy than they did against the Nuggets, when they lost 80% of the 50-50 balls. The Clippers are old and slow so they generally don’t do well with those hustle plays, but they need to be better tonight.
John Collins Surging: The most underrated part of the Clippers’ move up the standings has been John Collins’ play. And, while there were some slip-ups on defense, Collins played quite well against the Nuggets, hitting his threes and detonating a couple of big dunks. The Suns generally play on the smaller side, so this is a matchup that Collins should be able to do some damage inside as a scorer and rebounder. It would be great to see him continue his strong play on the road against a division opponent.
Clippers vs Suns Preview: A Tough Divisional Matchup
Robert Flom