by Darnell "The Playmaker" Sallins
The 2023 NBA Playoffs are set. The Western Conference has been crazy throughout the season as the West will run through the Mile High City and the Denver Nuggets. Nevertheless, we will focus on the four vs. five matchup in the West. The Los Angeles Clippers against the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
These two teams split the four-game series 2-2 including this past Sunday where the Clippers won. However, these two teams never faced each other at full strength and that will continue on the Clipper side for this series.
LA Clippers
The Clippers enter the playoffs as the 5th seed in the West but will have to go the 1st round without star forward Paul George. George suffered a hyperextended knee injury back on March 21 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. There is no timeline set for George to return and that's a big blow to the Clippers as they enter the playoffs.
The LA Clippers finished the regular season 44-38 with a healthy Kawhi Leonard for the first since the bubble. Leonard has played 52 games this season and leads the team with 23.8 points per game shooting 51.2% from the field, 41.6% from three while averaging 6.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists. The good thing about the Clippers is that they are a deep team where head coach Ty Lue can go 11 deep if need to without the service of Paul George.
Trading for Eric Gordon, Bones Hylands, and Mason Plumlee and then signing Russell Westbrooks provided depth and spacing to go with Kawhi Leonard. Westbrook, Gordon, and Hyland all averaging double digit scoring since joining the team back in February. Plumlee provides another big man presence outside of Ivica Zubac which is good to matchup with the Suns' DeAndre Ayton.
Phoenix Suns
The favorites to come out of the West is not a top 3 seed. It's the 4th seed, Phoenix Suns who finished the regular season 45-37. Trading for Kevin Durant in February changed the landscape in the Western Conference. The Suns have three star players who all shooting 44% or better from the floor in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Chris Paul as mid-range killers.
The main man of the team is Devin Booker in his 8th season in the league. Booker averaged 27.8 points on 49.4% shooting from the field with 4.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists. Next star to worry about is known as the Point God in Chris Paul. Paul averaged only 13.9 points on 44% shooting this season with 4.3 rebounds and 8.9 assists in his 18th season. And then there's Kevin Durant, traded from Brooklyn to Phoenix after Kyrie Irving was traded to Dallas, finishes this three-star power in Phoenix. Kevin Durant this season with both Brooklyn and Phoenix averaged 29.1 points while shooting 56% from the floor and 40.4% from three while grabbing 6.7 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists. Durant has only played 8 games for the Suns since the trade but the Suns are 8-0 in those games.
However, let's not forget about the big man in Desert in DeAndre Ayton. In his 5th season, Ayton put up 18 points per game and grabbing 10 rebounds per game. The most points Ayton has averaged since the 2019-2020 season where he averaged 18.2 points per game.
The series begins Sunday, April 16 in Phoenix
Series Schedule (* If Necessary)
Game 1: Sunday, April 16 in Phoenix at 8:00PM on TNT
Game 2: Tuesday, April 18 in Phoenix at 10:00PM
Game 3: Thursday, April 20 in Los Angeles at 10:30PM
Game 4: Saturday, April 22 in Los Angeles at 3:30PM on TNT
*Game 5: Tuesday, April 25 in Phoenix
*Game 6: Thursday, April 27 in Los Angeles
*Game 7: Saturday, April 29 in Phoenix on TNT