by Chuck Sommers
Thursday, Jan 06, 2022
Time: 10 p.m. ET
Venue: Footprint Center, Phoenix, AZ
Where to watch: TNT
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Suns -11.5; O/U 219
BetMGM: Suns -10.5; O/U 219.5
Caesars: Suns -11.5; O/U 219
Season record
Clippers: 19-19 (8th place, Western Conference)
Suns: 29-8 (2nd place, Western Conference)
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Clippers - Suns preview and analysis
Recent form
Clippers: lost 122-104 vs. Timberwolves on Monday
Suns: won 123-110 at Pelicans on Tuesday
The Phoenix Suns never seem to miss a beat any point, and at least with two important pieces out, they continue to find ways to at least handle the inferior teams.
This isn't to say the Los Angeles Clippers are inferior, but going into their matchup Thursday in Phoenix, the star power is going to dictate this game.
The Suns are fresh off wrapping up a 3-game road trip after defeating the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday, 123-110. All five starters scored in double figures, led by Devin Booker's game-high 33 points on 12 of 24 shooting, as the Suns won for the third time in four games.
Mikal Bridges had his most efficient game with 23 points on 9 of 13 shooting, including five made 3-pointers. Chris Paul had 11 points to go along with 15 assists as the Suns shot 54.1 percent from the floor while making 17 threes.
"He was finding guys all night," Suns coach Monty Williams said about his star point guard. "He had that look in his eyes when I would call plays. He had a really good rhythm, and guys were knocking down shots. Chris was finding guys all night."
I know it's too early to dictate this whole standings thing, but the Suns are back tied with the Golden State Warriors for the top spot in the Western Conference after Golden State lost by 17 points to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.
The Warriors still hold that tiebreaker after winning the first two matchups of the season.
Phoenix also got a jolt off the bench from big man Bismack Biyombo, who just signed a 10-day hardship with the Suns; the former lottery pick gave Phoenix 16 points on 6 of 6 shooting in 29 minutes with young center Jalen Smith fighting foul trouble.
Even with the Suns minus Deandre Ayton, they find ways to get big guys involved, no matter who it is. Going against a Clippers team that doesn't have its top three centers and is forced to go with an older Serge Ibaka at the five, things could be a lot worse for the Clippers.
Nevertheless, the shorthanded Clippers dropped another game for their third loss in five games, losing 122-104 to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday. Los Angeles shot 50 percent from the floor, shot eight more free throws than Minnesota but made five threes fewer. That shouldn't have resulted in an 18-point loss to Minnesota, but the Clippers don't have an Anthony Edwards (28 points).
Ibaka led the Clippers with 17 points while making all seven shots in 20 minutes, but the veteran big man was a minus-13 in that stretch. All five Clippers starters were at least a minus-10, led by a whopping minus-24 from Terance Mann in 25 minutes.
"You got to learn from it like any game, figure out what we could have done better," said Justise Winslow, who had 15 points off the Clippers' bench. "You got to bring it every night in this league, all the guys, even guys that aren't playing."
The Phoenix Suns never seem to miss a beat any point, and at least with two important pieces out, they continue to find ways to at least handle the inferior teams.
This isn't to say the Los Angeles Clippers are inferior, but going into their matchup Thursday in Phoenix, the star power is going to dictate this game.
The Suns are fresh off wrapping up a 3-game road trip after defeating the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday, 123-110. All five starters scored in double figures, led by Devin Booker's game-high 33 points on 12 of 24 shooting, as the Suns won for the third time in four games.
Mikal Bridges had his most efficient game with 23 points on 9 of 13 shooting, including five made 3-pointers. Chris Paul had 11 points to go along with 15 assists as the Suns shot 54.1 percent from the floor while making 17 threes.
"He was finding guys all night," Suns coach Monty Williams said about his star point guard. "He had that look in his eyes when I would call plays. He had a really good rhythm, and guys were knocking down shots. Chris was finding guys all night."
I know it's too early to dictate this whole standings thing, but the Suns are back tied with the Golden State Warriors for the top spot in the Western Conference after Golden State lost by 17 points to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.
The Warriors still hold that tiebreaker after winning the first two matchups of the season.
Phoenix also got a jolt off the bench from big man Bismack Biyombo, who just signed a 10-day hardship with the Suns; the former lottery pick gave Phoenix 16 points on 6 of 6 shooting in 29 minutes with young center Jalen Smith fighting foul trouble.
Even with the Suns minus Deandre Ayton, they find ways to get big guys involved, no matter who it is. Going against a Clippers team that doesn't have its top three centers and is forced to go with an older Serge Ibaka at the five, things could be a lot worse for the Clippers.
Nevertheless, the shorthanded Clippers dropped another game for their third loss in five games, losing 122-104 to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday. Los Angeles shot 50 percent from the floor, shot eight more free throws than Minnesota but made five threes fewer. That shouldn't have resulted in an 18-point loss to Minnesota, but the Clippers don't have an Anthony Edwards (28 points).
Ibaka led the Clippers with 17 points while making all seven shots in 20 minutes, but the veteran big man was a minus-13 in that stretch. All five Clippers starters were at least a minus-10, led by a whopping minus-24 from Terance Mann in 25 minutes.
"You got to learn from it like any game, figure out what we could have done better," said Justise Winslow, who had 15 points off the Clippers' bench. "You got to bring it every night in this league, all the guys, even guys that aren't playing."
Right now, the Clippers are just trying to learn how to stay above water with Paul George still a few weeks away from returning due to a torn ligament in his elbow. The Clippers are still thick in the playoff race, which is all you can ask for in that situation. But this is going to be a ridiculous test for that L.A. backcourt. Reggie Jackson may need to play 40 minutes.
Prediction
Two-thirds of the Suns' big three is better than the lineup the Clippers are throwing out there right now. There's not a lot to like from L.A.'s side of things against contending teams the way they're currently constructed. The Clippers have gotten beat up on the boards and against a young, athletic duo like Smith and Cameron Johnson, this won't be an easy task for the small-ball Clips. Suns by 20
Betting trends
The Clippers are 1-10 ATS in their last 11 off two days rest.
The over is 4-1 in the Clippers' last five.
The Clippers are 18-8 ATS in the last 26 meetings.
The Suns are 46-25 ATS over the past three seasons after winning two of three.
The Suns are 30-13 the past three seasons avenging a loss against the opponent of 10 points or more the last meeting.
Projected starting lineup
Clippers:
PG: Reggie Jackson
SG: Terance Mann
SF: Marcus Morris Sr.
PF: Justise Winslow
C: Serge Ibaka
SF: Marcus Morris Sr.
PF: Justise Winslow
C: Serge Ibaka
Suns:
PG: Chris Paul
SG: Devin Booker
SF: Mikal Bridges
PF: Cameron Johnson
C: Jalen Smith
SF: Mikal Bridges
PF: Cameron Johnson
C: Jalen Smith
Key injuries
Clippers: Paul George (elbow, out), Kawhi Leonard (ACL, out), Nicolas Batum (ankle, questionable), Luke Kennard, Ivica Zubac, Isaiah Hartenstein (COVID, out)
Suns: Deandre Ayton, Jae Crowder, JaVale McGee, Landry Shamet (COVID, all out)
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
