How will Suns strategy change against Clippers with Kawhi Leonard out for Game 3?
LOS ANGELES – Torrey Craig has had his hands extremely full with Kawhi Leonard so far in this Suns-Clippers series.
He was the primary defender in Game 1 when Leonard dropped 38 points in 42 minutes to lead Los Angeles to a Game 1 stunner in Phoenix.
The Suns sent more double teams to help Craig in winning Game 2 Tuesday to even the series, but Leonard still scored 31 points in 39 minutes.
Now with Leonard being ruled out Game 3 Thursday at Crpyto.com Arena with a right knee sprain, the Suns don't have to worry about guarding the guy who has been the best player in this series.
The Clippers have been without fellow All-Star Paul George, who has a right knee sprain as well. They'll likely feature Russell Westbrook, who is coming off a 28-point performance in Game 2.
The Suns can now look to guard the Clippers straight man-to-man without giving any help, but Westbrook and Norman Powell have been getting to the rim off dribble penetration in this series.
Phoenix did a better job of keeping the ball in front during an 18-8 run to close the first half that knotted the game at 59-59 at halftime and a 12-2 to run to open the second half in Game 2.
The Suns can't revert back to the defense it displayed in Game 1 and at times during the regular season of allowing dribble penetration. The Clippers not only attack the paint, but they drive-and-kick to locate 3-point shooters like Eric Gordon.
This is a what's called a swing game in a series.
If Phoenix wins, it regains homecourt advantage and will have even more momentum going into Game 4 Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles. If the Clippers win, they will not only go up 2-1 with a home game coming up Saturday, but show they can beat the nearly full strength Suns without Leonard and George.
Game 5 is Tuesday in Phoenix. Leonard hasn't been ruled out for the remainder of the series. So he may be able to return at some point. The longer the series go, the more time he and George have to return.
As for the Suns, Cameron Payne is the only one on their injury report for Game 3 as he's questionable with a low back soreness. He hasn't played so far in this series.
Chris Paul grabbed at his right hand after deflecting a pass in the fourth quarter of Game 2, but Suns coach Monty Williams said after Wednesday's practice that Paul seemed fine.
Paul dribbled with his right hand after the deflection and hit a dagger jumper to put Phoenix up 12 points, 121-109, forcing the Clippers to call a timeout with two minutes left in the game.
The Leonard injury evokes memories of the 2021 Western Conference finals Leonard missed with a partially torn right ACL that kept him sidelined the entire 2021-22 season.
The Suns eliminated the Clippers in six games to reach the 2021 finals.
Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns must still limit Clippers dribble penetration even with Leonard out
