The LA Clippers have their sights set on the Phoenix Suns Saturday night as they look for their first 3-0 start since the 2017-2018 season.
The LA Clippers have started their season just the way they wanted to, with victories over the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors by a combined margin of victory of 14.5 points.
Kawhi Leonard has already placed his stamp on LA, posting averages of 25.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists across the first two contests and has shown his defensive skills as well, holding Lebron James to 18 points and helped keep all Warriors starters in the negatives in plus/minus.
The Clippers have also done a fabulous job showcasing their depth in the first two matchups, outscoring the opposing bench 128-71 combined across both contests. A big testament to that is the elite scoring ability of Lou Williams, who is once again showcasing he is the best bench player in basketball by averaging 21.5 points and 7.5 assists per game.
The word to express how the Clippers have played over the course of these first two games and looking ahead to Phoenix is efficient. The Clippers currently lead the association in field goal percentage at 57.1, while also sitting third in points per game at 126.5. The defense has been efficient as well, holding opponents to 41.3 percent shooting and forcing 13.5 turnovers per game
Looking at the Suns, the weapons they possess are clear: Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton. To note though, the Suns will be without Ayton for 25 games after violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. After Booker, no other players pose a major issue to the Clippers offensively besides maybe Ricky Rubio or Dario Saric, but the Clippers defense should be able to handle both players pretty easily.
The keys to victory in this matchup are pretty simple, keep playing smart basketball by limiting mistakes and shooting efficiently and don’t allow Booker to get hot offensively. The only major disadvantage for the Clippers is that the game is in Phoenix, but that should not pose too many issues considering the talent disparity.
The Suns currently lead the all-time series 130-90, but the Clippers have not lost to the Suns since April 13, 2016, in a game in which Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan did not play. That puts the Clippers on a 12-game winning streak against Phoenix and they will look to make it 13 straight on Saturday night.
The LA Clippers and Phoenix Suns will face off tonight at 7:00 p.m. PDT. Be sure to follow along with @ClipperholicsFS on Twitter for live updates and analysis!