10:00 PM EST, TNT – Line: Lakers -1.5, Over/Under: 208
After a thrilling opening weekend the NBA Playoffs rage on with the second chapter of what is arguably it’s juiciest matchup, as the reigning champion (Seven Seed) Los Angeles Lakers look to avoid falling into an 0-2 hole against the (Two Seed) Phoenix Suns, from Phoenix Suns Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. It’s been quite the ride thus far for the Lakers (42-30, 7th in Western Conference), who despite wearing the distinction of champions have endured a number of hardships, including the shortest offseason of any team in the National Basketball Association, significant injuries to the two foundational pillars of their rotation forcing them to tread water without them for roughly two months, and the annoyance of competing in the NBA’s inaugural Play-In Tournament in order to advance to the Playoffs, which is something that they barely managed to survive. There is a prevailing train of thought that all of those hurdles have been the collective price paid for winning the franchise’s seventeenth Larry O’Brien Trophy (matching the Boston Celtics for the most in league history), particularly when you consider the absences that they’ve suffered throughout the campaign. After getting off to an impressive 21-6 start, the cruel hand of fate revealed itself when (All-NBA Forward) Anthony Davis (21.8 PTS, 49.1% FG, 26.0% 3FG, 7.9 REB, 3.1 AST, 1.3 STL, 1.6 BLK, 22.1 PER) suffered a near calf/Achilles tear that would cause him to miss thirty consecutive games, followed shortly thereafter by (four-time MVP) LeBron James (25.0 PTS, 51.3% FG, 36.5% 3FG, 7.7 REB, 7.8 AST, 1.1 STL, 24.2 PER) being sidelined with a high ankle sprain for twenty-six out of twenty-eight games, with both superstars out of action at the same time for a total of fifteen contests. Granted, (Head Coach) Frank Vogel and his Staff did a remarkable job of keeping the team together throughout this arduous period, with Los Angeles managing a respectable 7-8 record over that span, thanks in large part to arguably the stingiest defense in the league, and a supporting cast that received an injection of youth and energy during the (brief) offseason; the Lakers added (reigning Sixth Man of the Year) Montrezl Harrell (13.5 PTS, 62.2% FG, 6.2 REB, 1.1 AST, 0.7 STL, 07 BLK, 22.7 PER) and (sparkplug Point Guard) Dennis Schroder (15.4 PTS, 43.7% FG, 33.5% 3FG, 3.5 REB, 5.8 AST, 1.1 STL, 13.8 PER) during Free Agency and via trade, while later acquiring the services of (four-time rebounding champion) Andre Drummond (11.9 PTS, 53.1% FG, 10.2 REB, 1.4 AST, 1.1 STL, 1.0 BLK, 17.9 PER) after the towering Center reached a buyout with the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, all these new faces may look imposing on paper, but the condensed nature of this campaign has made it extremely difficult for any team to build the requisite chemistry to make a championship run, and nigh impossible to do so with so many injuries depriving such figures as James and Davis from participating in practice/games. Even after winning their final five games of the Regular Season and narrowly edging the Golden State Warriors in a 103-100 thriller in last week’s Play-In, it’s clear that all these pieces aren’t quite on the same page yet, and that was no more apparent than in Sunday’s 99-90 loss at Phoenix in Game One of this First Round Series. Keep in mind that the Lakers entered this series as the first Seven Seed to ever be favored over a Two, and while that is certainly reasonable when you consider their championship pedigree along with the presence of James and Davis, this unit did NOT play to their potential over the weekend, and now finds themselves at a disadvantage before tonight’s tipoff. So what went wrong for Los Angeles, you ask? Where to begin…. Well, first and foremost, Davis did not have the expected impact against a younger, inexperienced Frontcourt, finishing with a disappointing thirteen points on just 5-of-16 shooting (31.3%), along with seven rebounds, a pair of assists and three blocks. Too often he could be found simply floating around the perimeter, settling for long jumpers instead of cutting to the rim or mucking it up in the paint. Granted, part of this is due to the lack of chemistry that he has with Drummond, but the 28-year old has long been more effective when he’s playing at Center in a smaller lineup than when he shares the hardwood with another big. Vogel’s deadliest lineups in last year’s Playoffs came with him at the Five, so expect that adjustment to be made in short order. Second, James still seems to be working his way back from that aforementioned ankle sprain. The 36-year old looked like he was still attempting to manage his injury, totaling a lukewarm eighteen points on 6-of-13 shooting (46.2%), with seven rebounds and ten assists, visibly lacking the explosion to take advantage of larger, slower-footed defenders and a reluctance to post smaller ones. All in all, both players lacked the requisite aggression that we’ve come to expect from them, and when they don’t play with that energy the rest of the rotation isn’t necessarily equipped to handle the load; as a team, the Lakers shot just 43.4% from the field, including a miserable 7-of-26 from beyond the arc (26.9%), while also missing eleven of their twenty-eight free-throws (60.7%), with nearly as many turnovers (14) as assists (19). Furthermore, they were bested in the paint (Minus-8) and struggled to get out into transition, where they were outscored 16-9. With all that said, this is a position that Vogel & Co are VERY intimate with, for Los Angeles developed a habit of growing into each series they participated in during last year’s Playoffs; they dropped Game One in convincing fashion in each of their first two series, losing to the Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets by a combined twenty-two points, only to turn right around and win those respective series in five games apiece. To break it down even further, against Portland they posted ninety-three points on 35.1% shooting, including 15.6% from downtown, with twenty-two assists in comparison to nine turnovers in Game One of that series, only to average a robust 123.3 points on 52.2% shooting, including 38.5% from three, with 27.0 assists and 15.5 turnovers over the following four games. It would be a nearly identical story against Houston, who after logging ninety-seven points on 42.2% shooting, including 28.9% from the perimeter, with eighteen assists and fifteen turnovers in Game One, exploded for 114.5 points on 53.3% shooting, including 40.3% from deep, with 27.5 assists and 15.8 turnovers the rest of the way. Basically, if history has taught us anything about this group, we shouldn’t count them out just yet…
Meanwhile, the renaissance in Phoenix continues in grand fashion as the Suns (51-21, 2nd in Western Conference) followed their long-awaited return to the Playoffs following an eleven-year hiatus with their first postseason victory in as many years, toppling the defending champions in a triumphant 99-90 victory. An argument can be made that if this team fails to win another game in this series then this campaign will be considered nothing short of a rousing success, for they have come so far over these last five months. Needless to say, this franchise had been as dysfunctional as any over the previous decade, what with a revolving door of executives, coaches, and players creating a culture that was rarely ever conducive for growth resulting in sixth consecutive losing seasons. However, the seeds of success were laid last season, when (recently elected 2020-2021 Coach of the Year) Monty Williams was hired as their new Head Coach, and after weathering a slow start, put together a full court press during their brief stint in the Bubble in Orlando, winning all eight of their games and narrowly missing out of the Playoffs. Carrying that momentum into the offseason, Phoenix pulled off a coup in the form of acquiring (All-NBA Point Guard) Chris Paul (16.4 PTS, 49.9% FG, 39.5% 3FG, 4.5 REB, 8.9 AST, 1.4 STL, 21.4 PER) in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder, which accelerated their development exponentially in 2020-2021. Needless to say, even at the age of thirty-six, Paul has had an immense effect on his young teammates, which has paid serious dividends; the Suns won SEVENTEEN more games than they did last season, with the likes of (All-Star Guard) Devin Booker (25.6 PTS, 48.4% FG, 34.0% 3FG, 4.2 REB, 4.3 AST, 0.8 STL, 19.2 PER), (3 & D specialist) Mikal Bridges (13.5 PTS, 54.3% FG, 42.5% 3FG, 4.3 REB, 2.1 AST, 1.1 STL, 0.9 BLK, 16.4 PER), and (former No. One Overall Pick) DeAndre Ayton (14.4 PTS, 62.6% FG, 10.5 REB, 1.4 AST, 0.6 STL, 1.2 BLK, 20.3 PER) each growing by leaps and bounds. In the case of Booker, his offensive skillset has flourished alongside the eleven-time All-Star, with the 24-year old no longer simply a sniper, now relishing physicality and contact, posting smaller defenders and driving to the rim with more confidence. Performing in the first Playoff game of his career, Booker proved that the moment was in no manner too big for him, torching the Lakers for thirty-four points on an efficient 13-of-26 shooting from the field (50.0%), including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc (42.9%), along with eight rebounds and seven assists. Bridges performed his role as well, harassing the aforementioned James throughout the affair. However, the biggest surprise was undoubtedly Ayton, who by any metrics put together the game of his life. Coming into this series, many pointed to the third-year big man being the x-factor against the larger Lakers, particularly when matching up with the likes of Davis and Drummond. To his credit, the 22-year old clearly one the battle against LA’s bigs in Game One, finishing with twenty-one points on a near-perfect 10-of-11 shooting from the floor (90.9%) along with sixteen rebounds, all the while denying the visitors at the rim. While it’s unrealistic to expect him to maintain that absurdly high level of play over the duration of this series, it was an incredibly satisfying sign of his continued development, which has we touched upon earlier if really something to hang your hat on for an organization that has struggled mightily to develop talent over the previous decade of disarray. As a team, we already covered how they relegated the Lakers to such a poor offensive performance, but Williams & Co deserve plenty of credit for what they did on the offensive end of the court as well; Phoenix shot a solid 46.5% from the field, and though they struggled from the perimeter as well (9-of-28 3FG), they took it to Los Angeles in the paint where they outscored them 52-44, and created a wealth of second-chance opportunities thanks in large part to sixteen offensive rebounds, half of which were credited to Ayton’s work on the glass. However, as triumphant as this victory was, it did come with a MAJOR caveat: Paul appeared to suffer an injury to his right shoulder in the Second Quarter of Sunday’s contest, and never looked quite right from that point on, finishing the afternoon with only seven points on 3-of-8 shooting (37.5%). The veteran expressed visible discomfort throughout the game, while adjusting his shooting motion to compensate for his ailing shoulder. Paul has publicly stated that he “heard a crack” when he initially suffered the injury, but also expressed nothing but confidence that he would be good to go for tonight’s encounter. This is certainly something to keep an eye on, for the 36-year old has seen untimely injuries end his team’s postseason runs before, with a broken thumb ending his run with two games to go in a First Round upset at the hands of the Blazers back in 2016, and a hamstring strain that infamously caused him to miss Games Six of Seven of the 2018 Western Conference Finals against the reigning (and eventual) champion, Warriors.