• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Phoenix Sports Today

Phoenix Sports News Continuously Updated

  • Cardinals
  • Diamondbacks
  • Coyotes
  • Basketball
    • Mercury
    • Suns
  • Soccer
  • Colleges
    • Arizona State
    • Grand Canyon University
    • Northern Arizona
    • University of Arizona

How injuries in Clippers-Jazz could impact potential Chris Paul-less Suns

June 18, 2021 by ArizonaSports.com - 98.7 FM Leave a Comment

Empire of the Suns podcast co-hosts Kellan Olson and Kevin Zimmerman discuss how injuries to the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard and the Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley could change the outlook for the Phoenix Suns, who themselves could potentially be without Chris Paul to start the Western Conference Finals.

Kellan Olson: Kevin, we should start with the latest news at the top. The Clippers “fear” Kawhi Leonard has an ACL injury, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, while Jazz point guard Mike Conley (hamstring) missed his fifth straight game on Wednesday.

Leonard’s “out indefinitely” timeline doesn’t bode well for his future and it feels safe to say we should treat him as out until we hear otherwise.

The Clippers pulled off a huge upset in Game 5 on Wednesday, taking down the Jazz in Utah to go up 3-2 in the Western Conference Semifinals series.

Related Links
  • Devin Booker gifts ‘Suns in 4’ fan with signed jersey, playoff tickets
  • Suns setting tone, finding right stride on defensive end in playoffs
  • Suns could face injured Clippers or hobbled Jazz in WCF
  • MVP Jokic gives Suns C Ayton uplifting message on signed jersey
  • UA doctor and Suns fan optimistic despite Chris Paul’s COVID-19

Was that a best-case scenario for the Suns, who await the winner in the conference finals?

Kevin Zimmerman: I think so. I would be surprised if the Jazz don’t keep the series alive with a Friday night win to take it to a Game 7 over the weekend, thereby pushing the Suns’ Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals series to Tuesday instead of Sunday.

That two days is a critical amount of time if Paul can get cleared to re-join the team and then get a little sweat in after taking perhaps close to a week off. Not to mention that both the Clippers and Jazz are banged up.

Donovan Mitchell’s frustration about his poor play and lingering ankle injury came out a bit after Game 5.

If we assume he’s operating at 70% and that Leonard would miss the start of the Western Conference Finals, which team at this moment would you say presents a better matchup for the Suns considering the injury situations that have arisen over the last three days?

Olson: Without a doubt, it’s the Clippers.

The Suns and Jazz are two very similar teams when it comes down to how they match up personnel-wise and the way they play team basketball on both ends of the floor. That would make that series a war and a crapshoot at the same time.

Los Angeles’ star power diminishing to just Paul George is more than enough for the Suns’ defense to handle, and with the lack of ball-handler creation elsewhere on that roster, Phoenix would be able to bottle that offense up. And by default, that makes the Suns better offensively.

While there should be concern with the Clippers going small and playing five-out, Deandre Ayton’s play this postseason inspires more than enough confidence that he’d be able to hold up his end of the bargain in an increased role. And look, even if he struggled at times, the Suns have the wings to thrive going small anyway.

Let’s transition to the news of the week, Kevin, which is Chris Paul being out due to health and safety protocols.

Which team would they miss him more against?

Zimmerman: A lot of that has to do with Conley’s status for Utah. The Jazz point guard hasn’t played at all in the semifinals series due to a hamstring injury, and it’s hurt a team that aside from Mitchel, just doesn’t have a ton of guys that can create decently off the bounce.

The Jazz got some good news Friday, however, with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reporting the guard is “working toward a return to the lineup” for Game 6.

If Conley suffers a setback, I think Paul is more crucial against the Clippers. I realize this might be a warm take considering Utah is clearly the better team, but humor me for a second.

Los Angeles will throw bodies at Devin Booker, be it George or Patrick Beverley. Ty Lue’s squad can also do a lot of switching to blow up the mismatching that led the Suns to attack a weaker defender playing both the Lakers and Nuggets in the first two rounds.

The Clippers would force the Suns to do a lot more immediate weakside swinging of the ball off pick-and-roll actions, and having another playmaker who can attack against a scrambling defense in the mid-range and make good decisions would be even more crucial against Los Angeles, I think. It would just present a very different gameplan compared to what worked for Phoenix against Denver and the Los Angeles Lakers.

All that said, I think a Kawhi-less Clippers team is still a less dangerous team than Utah, even if Mitchell and Conley are dealing with injuries.

Of course, if and when Paul returns to the Suns will swing things.

Obviously, there are quite a few variables days before the Western Conference Finals could start.

Filed Under: Suns

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Rising Remain Unbeaten in Last Six Matches, Draw Indy 1-1
  • Joshua Dobbs, Running And Trucking To The End Zone
  • White Sox Expected To Hire Josh Barfield, Brian Bannister, Gene Watson To Front Office Roles
  • D-backs’ Corbin Carroll accomplishes rare 25-home run, 50-stolen base season
  • D-backs’ Merrill Kelly outduels ace Logan Webb in sweep over Giants

Categories

Archives

Our Partners

All Sports

  • 247 Sports
  • ArizonaSports.com - 98.7 FM
  • Bleacher Report
  • Heat Waved
  • OurSports Central
  • The Arizona Republic
  • The Sports Fan Journal
  • USA Today

Baseball

  • Arizona Diamondbacks
  • AZ Snake Pit
  • Last Word On Baseball
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Venom Strikes

Basketball

  • Phoenix Suns
  • Amico Hoops
  • Basketball Insiders
  • Bright Side Of The Sun
  • High Post Hoops
  • Hoops Hype
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Last Word On Pro Basketball
  • Pro Basketball Talk
  • Real GM
  • Valley Of The Suns

Football

  • Arizona Cardinals
  • Cardinals Gab
  • Cards Wire
  • Deep Dive
  • Last Word On Pro Football
  • NFL Trade Rumors
  • Our Turf Football
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Football Talk
  • Raising Zona
  • Revenge Of The Birds
  • Words From The Birds

Hockey

  • Elite Prospects
  • Five For Howling
  • Howlin Hockey
  • Last Word On Hockey
  • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Talk
  • The Hockey Writers

Soccer

  • Last Word on Soccer
  • MLS Multiplex

College

  • AZ Desert Swarm
  • Busting Brackets
  • College Football News
  • College Sports Madness
  • Devils In Detail
  • House Of Sparky
  • Last Word On College Basketball - Univ of Arizona
  • Saturday Blitz
  • Zags Blog
  • Zona Zealots

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in