Drawing the short straw against LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the defending champions felt like a potential recipe for an early, frustrating exit and an unfortunate end that prevented a proper evaluation of how good the Suns actually were.
Phoenix turned the series around, winning Game 4 on the road to even the series, setting the table for a rout in the all-pivotal Game 5 and eventually Devin Booker’s coming-to-age true superstar arrival moment where he dropped 47 in a series closeout Game 6.
The 36-year-old averaged 25.5 points on 62% shooting, 58% from 3, didn’t miss a free throw and had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 41-to-5 for the series.
Phoenix’s youngsters have been impressive so far, but they, along with Booker, will need to grow up more than ever as they wait for Paul’s return.
One postseason ago, the Clippers couldn’t hold onto a lead, collapsing under the full weight of the playoff pressure in the bubble to blow a 3-1 lead to the Nuggets.
And the Clippers are here in scorching Phoenix for Game 1 because they simply refuse to wilt, no matter how hot things get.
And again, the Clippers lost the first two games of the second round in Utah before winning four straight.
When they were perhaps a couple of bad plays away from going down 3-0 in Dallas, Lue quickly inserted Nicolas Batum in for Ivica Zubac to go to a smaller and more switchable defensive lineup against Mavericks star Luka Doncic.
And against Utah, Lue’s small lineup worked wonders again, this time neutralizing the three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.
“And so that’s all that’s been on the front of our mind is figuring out how we can be the best team we can this year…
The Clippers’ smallball lineups present a different challenge for the Suns than they faced in wins over the Lakers and Nuggets, who played conventionally with centers on the court in the first two rounds.
Assuming they stick with the lineups that finished their series against the Mavericks and Jazz with no player taller than the 6-foot-8 duo of Batum and Marcus Morris Sr., the Clippers will try to slow down Phoenix’s pick-and-roll attack with frequent switches.
He’s a more skilled big man than the Clippers dealt with in the first two rounds, having mashed the Lakers for 21.7 PPG on 82% shooting in the opening three games of that series.
In another way, the conference finals is a similar matchup for Phoenix to the second-round win over Denver: A short-handed team trying to keep up with the Suns’ attack.
Much like Denver in the first round against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Clippers were able to overcome the loss of Leonard for the final two games of the series with a knee injury thanks to unexpected contributions from role players.
Austin Rivers, who made 48% of his 3s in the first round, saw that slip to 27% against Phoenix.
Provided Paul is able to play, the Suns present fewer promising places to attack 1-on-1 than the Jazz’s starting lineup, which was built around Gobert cleaning up messes in the paint — something he found more challenging against the Clippers’ five-out attack.