Clippers vs. Suns NBA Playoffs Game 1 Picks: ‘Playoff P’ is Ready for Another Challenge

The Clippers and Suns will be without Kawhi Leonard and Chris Paul in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Sunday afternoon. Here’s a complete preview, including updated Scores and Odds and NBA picks.

Los Angeles Clippers vs. Phoenix Suns

Sunday, June 20, 2021 – 3:30 PM EDT at Phoenix Suns Arena

The Suns opened as 4-point favorites at the Best Online gambling sites and over at FiveThirtyEight, they have the Suns at -3. This leaves a 1-point gap between the projections and the actual SBR odds. We need at least two points between the projections and the lines before we lay any serious wood. Here we are not getting enough.

FiveThirtyEight gives the Suns a 62 percent chance to win. The equivalent moneyline is -163. The Heritage Odds have the Suns at -170. For support, we turn to USA Today’s Jeff Sagarin’s projections; he has the Suns at -1.17 using his Rating numbers, and at -1.13 using his eigenvector analysis. Is there some room to grab potential betting value with the Clippers +5 at betonline?

George, Mann and Company Stepped Up

Kawhi Leonard could be dealing with an ACL injury after injuring his knee in Game 4 of the second round series against the Jazz and Chris Paul is in the NBA’s health and safety protocols and will also be out indefinitely. Leonard and Paul were phenomenal so far, especially CP3 but more on him later. Kawhi’s unfortunate injury opened the door for Terance Mann’s coming out party and Reggie Jackson is also helping carry the load while we haven’t seen the Suns without Paul yet!

Mann and the Clippers erased a 25-point deficit to beat the Jazz 131-119 in Game 6 on Friday while the Suns swept the Nuggets and haven’t played since last Sunday. With Leonard out, the Clippers put the offense in Paul George’s hands and he led them to the Western Conference Finals for the first time ever.

Terance Mann, Reggie Jackson and Nicolas Batum are playing at a high level as a direct result of the attention George drew as the lead offensive weapon against the Jazz and he always found the open man. George, a natural playmaker, kept the dribble alive, had great vision, awareness and timing and he found shooters open when he needed to.

Mann finished with a career-high 39 points on 15 of 21 shooting and 7 of 10 from beyond the arc in Game 6 against the Jazz, George had 28 points, seven assists and three steals and Reggie Jackson added 27 points, 10 assists and three steals.

Can the Clippers Keep Up With the Suns?

Chris Paul helped the Suns finish off a second-round sweep of the Nuggets with a 125-118 win last Sunday. Paul had a season-high 37 points on 14-for-19 from the field, including 9-for-9 from the free-throw line and he didn’t make, or even attempt, a single 3-point shot. The Suns haven’t displayed any weakness so far. This is a deep, versatile team. Deandre Ayton elevated his play, Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson have been two-way threats, Cameron Payne turned around his career this season and is now one of the best reserve players in the league, Jae Crowder is a great veteran leader who brings the best out of his teammates and head coach Monty Williams has a unique connection with the team and is one of the smartest at his position. As for Devin Booker, he is proving to be a superstar.

Booker scored 47 points in Game 6 against the Lakers in the first round and put 34 on the Nuggets on Sunday in the second closeout game of his career. Booker has an advanced, polished, smooth and calm style. He has a supreme skillset and he’s a legit three-level scorer with a great feel for taking games over. This is clearly one of the best NBA Teams today.

The Clippers will have almost no rest but they’re 4-0 ATS in their last four games overall, 4-0 ATS in their last four games after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game and 4-0 ATS in their last four games after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game. I can’t go against them right now. The NBA Scores today might not have LA winning the game in the end but they will at least put up a fight and I like them catching five points on the road. That’s what I expect from the NBA Today.

NBA Pick: Clippers +5 (-112) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)

Clippers +5(-112)

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*The pick reflects the line at the moment the writer made the play, the odds at the beginning of this article show the live line movement. Since the lines might vary, don’t forget to refer back to our live odds.

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