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Edgar Chaput
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Phoenix Suns Game 2 Prediction, NBA Odds
While most expected an interesting series, few would have thought the Suns would be in a position where they have to avoid falling 0-2 and heading to Los Angeles for Game 3. Such is the case as the Clippers and Suns get ready for tip off on Tuesday night in the desert. To LA’s credit, they came out swinging in Game 1.
Desperate times call for desperate measure, and the NBA odds have placed host Phoenix as a -8.0 favourite, with the total established at 225.5
Clippers vs. Suns NBA Playoffs Betting Odds
The Clippers have been involved in some wild spreads since the tail end of the regular season. In their next-to-last game at home to Portland, Vegas pinned them as a ridiculous -17 favourite, which of course they didn’t cover. Then, in the ultimate match against these same Suns they were a -9.5 favourite and once again failed to match expectations. On the flip side, they entered Game 1 as a +8 favourite and defied the odds by winning 115-110. It’s been a three-game stretch that represented this year’s Clippers in a nutshell: one is never sure what they’ll get.
Speaking of odds, they’ve tightened as far as the series winner goes. The Suns are still favoured, but only at -192, which LA pinned at a respectable +144. Phoenix hasn’t been a stranger to unusual odds either in recent weeks. They faced both a -13 odd against an undermanned Denver squad and a +13 versus a desperate Lakers team and failed both. Then of course came the -8 in Game 1 which didn’t develop at all as planned. Game 2 is not only important to level the terms, but as an organization, the Suns have fumbled the ball at home in the playoffs in some pretty big games recently. Game 5 in the 2021 Finals, Game 7 in the second round last year come to mind.
Los Angeles Clippers
Tyronn Lue’s ensemble surprised a lot of people in Game 1, chief among them the Suns. They hung with Phoenix and went blow for blow literally all night, which eventually helped pave the way to their 115-110 win and 1-0 series lead.
Field goal shooting was comparable (44.1 per cent to Phoenix’s 47.6), so was three-point efficiency (32.3 per cent to the Suns’ 31.6) and free throws were nearly identical (79.3 per cent to their rivals’ 78.8). Two things stood out, one an elemental and critical factor in winning basketball games, the other the ultimate x factor. The Clippers won the rebound battle 49-42. Great news. The surprise? Russell Westbrook saved the day. The oft-maligned star was all over the court, especially in the fourth quarter, playing hard-nosed defence and playing tough on the glass. For once his poor shooting (3-for-19) was forgivable because he literally did everything else splendidly. Less surprising was Kawhi Leonard’s 38 points, leading his side in scoring.
As previously reported, the Clippers will have to survive at least the first round without Paul George.
Phoenix Suns
This was a case of a bad start coming back to haunt a good team. The first quarter was absolutely dreadful, with none other than Kevin Durant going scoreless. As such, the Suns trailed 30-18 after 12 minutes.
They pulled through the rest of the way and honestly played some solid basketball. KD himself morphed into a facilitator in the second half, dishing out 11 dimes to go along with his 27 points. He didn’t take a shot in the third quarter! One would think that with three players tallying over 20 points (Durant, Devin Booker, and Torrey Craig) that the Suns would have taken over, but every time they made a move to control the game, the Clippers refused to wither. Perhaps most worrisome is that since last year’s postseason, the modern Chris Paul simply doesn’t have the same effect on a contest as the Paul of old. 11 rebounds and 10 assists are nice numbers, but he scored seven points and they lost by five.
LAC
PHO