Clippers vs Suns Game 1 Odds, Lineups, Picks & Injury Report

• The Clippers and Suns face off in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Sunday
• Phoenix enters as a 4.5-point favorite for the series opener
• Get the odds, preview, injury report, and prediction below

The stage is finally set for the Western Conference Finals. The Phoenix Suns will meet the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 1 on Sunday in the desert, with tip-off scheduled for 3:30 pm ET.

Phoenix has been on standby for the last week after sweeping Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets last Sunday. As for the Clippers, they truly pulled off the unthinkable by winning four straight games against the Utah Jazz after after initially going into a 0-2 hole.

The season series between these two saw LA win two out of three.

Clippers vs Suns Game 1 Odds

Odds as of June 19th.

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Injury Report

The  Clippers will be without Kawhi Leonard for the first two contests of the conference finals due to his knee sprain. Leonard has stayed back in LA to receive more treatment on the injury but there’s still a sense of optimism that he can potentially return at some point. Serge Ibaka is out for the rest of the playoffs after undergoing back surgery.

The Suns gave an update on veteran guard Chris Paul on Saturday, who remains in the league’s health and safety protocols after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this week. While Monty Williams wouldn’t rule him out for Game 1, it seems very unlikely that he plays on Sunday. Expect the gritty Cam Payne to see a boost in minutes in a starting spot if CP3 is out.

Clippers vs Suns Projected Lineups

Red-Hot Clippers

After Game 5 when Kawhi was diagnosed with an ACL injury, basically everyone wrote off LA. But, they dug deep and received contributions from the entire rotation en route to winning the last two contests of the series.

Western Conference Finals bound.@MichelobULTRA | #ULTRAMoment pic.twitter.com/yf6RCQTEKm

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) June 20, 2021

Friday was a magical night at the Staples Center. The Clippers were down by as many as 28 points in the first half but came firing back in the final two periods to eventually win by 12 points. Terance Mann, who was starting in place of Leonard, was the leading catalyst offensively, pouring in a career-high 39 points while going 7 for 10 from downtown.

Now, the Clippers head to their first conference finals in franchise history. The fact they managed to beat the West’s top seed without their best player is still hard to comprehend, but clearly, this team is a force to be reckoned with on both ends of the court. The question is, can Mann play at this high level alongside PG through an entire series. That, we’ll have to see.

Suns Have Been Unstoppable

Phoenix has arguably been the best-looking team in the playoffs. They handled the injury-riddled Lakers with ease then also destroyed the Nuggets. The Suns are clicking on all cylinders right now, but without Paul, their team definitely takes a hit.

After all, he is the engine of their offense and brings so much to the table, on and off the court. His absence will definitely be felt, but Phoenix has proven to be capable of winning games without him. In the first round, his minutes were very limited due to a shoulder issue. Nevertheless, they still managed to put in work against the defending champions.

While Devin Booker has been nothing short of spectacular in his very first postseason with 27.9 points per game, Deandre Ayton has also been a monster offensively and defensively. The role players continue to step up and deliver too, with Jae Crowder, Mikal Bridges, and Cam Johnson all hitting countless big shots.

However, it will come down to just how productive Payne can be in the first unit. He definitely has big shoes to fill in place of Paul, but the former Murray State standout has been impressive throughout Phoenix’s run.

8️⃣1️⃣ points in the first two closeout wins of a postseason.@DevinBook joins Michael Jordan (1989, 1992) as the only players to score at least 81.

(Elias Sports Bureau) pic.twitter.com/3UAyJkie5R

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) June 16, 2021

Prediction

LA and Phoenix are red-hot. While the Clippers are on a roll and have played a lot lately, the Suns have been awaiting their opponent. One could make the argument that Phoenix may come out cold after the time off, but I don’t think that’s going to be the case.

For the time being with Kawhi and Paul sidelined, the results of this series will be based on which supporting cast will be better behind George and Booker. But for Game 1, in front of the electric home crowd, the Suns are going to come out victorious.

Pick: Phoenix Suns -184