It’s a Western Conference battle as the favored Phoenix Suns host the Los Angeles Clippers in the opener of their best of seven NBA opening round playoff series. There will be plenty of star power in Phoenix on Sunday, including Kevin Durant and Kahwi Leonard just to name two.
At BetOnline, the Suns are favored by -7 points with the total at 225.5. Phoenix is also listed at -285 on the moneyline while LA is +240. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. ET at the Phoenix Footprint Center.
Phoenix Suns (45-37, #4 seed)
Phoenix struggled badly this season when Devin Booker (27.8 points per game) was out with a groin injury and the organization saw a solution: get Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets. They got him but gave up a buch to do it. The package included young players Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson and five first-round draft choices.
As fate would have it though, Durant (29.1 PPG.) suffered a severe left ankle sprain early on. He’s played in just eight games for the Suns – all victories. Phoenix is certain that the mere presence of the 13-time All-Star forward gives them a realistic shot at a championship run.
Sound On 🔊
Kevin Durant had 1 game against the Clippers this season (27p, 3a, 3to)
Granted, it was vs the pre deadline Clippers, & there was no Kawhi, there were still some valuable takeaways in:
🤔 match-ups
🧐 types of help & doubles
👀 usage as a screener vs switches pic.twitter.com/3tpVumZJtD— Stephen PridGeon ☯️🏁 (@StayTrueSDot3) April 14, 2023
Suns hoping to reverse their recent playoff form
Phoenix is 0-3 all-time in the NBA Finals including a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2021 title series. The following year they owned the best regular season record (64-18) but were eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks. Phoenix lost the final two games of the series by an average of 30 points.
Now with Durant, Booker and Chris Paul in the same lineup, the Suns are setting themselves up for either a monster playoff run or a flop of huge proportions.
Los Angeles Clippers (44-38, #5 seed)
The Clippers lost to the Suns in the Western Conference finals two seasons ago without Kawhi Leonard. The former San Diego State star tore the ACL in his right knee in the previous series against the Utah Jazz.
However, Leonard (23.8 points per game) is healthy. He’s a former two-time finals MVP who will be playing in his first playoff game in 22 months since sustaining a serious knee injury. He held up physically over the final half of the season, playing some of his best basketball in years.
The Clippers will be without Paul George (23.8 points per game) as he recovers from a knee injury. When healthy George is among the top players in the NBA:
2 years ago today. TOUGH body 😤pic.twitter.com/eEvRGJV0ar
— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) April 11, 2023
Tasty Side Dish
Los Angeles added veteran point guard Russell Westbrook late in the season, which provides a nice sidebar to the main story.
Westbrook and Durant were teammates for eight seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder and there were reports that their relationship had frayed before Durant departed as a free agent in the summer of 2016. I’m not sure if we’ll see any moments like this but with these two guys, anything’s possible.
Russell westbrook vs Kevin Durant in the playoffs you can’t make this up. pic.twitter.com/hBDIXg1tF3
— Jamal Cristopher (@JamCristopher) April 9, 2023
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