Suns-Clippers Game 5 Injury Report, Game Preview
Who: Los Angeles Clippers at Phoenix Suns
What: NBA Playoffs, First Round, Game 5
When: Tuesday, April 25 at 7:00 PM PST
Where: Footprint Center, Phoenix, AZ
Spread: Suns -12.5
PHOENIX SUNS INJURY REPORT
Cameron Payne (lower back soreness) PROBABLE
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
Paul George (knee) OUT
Kawhi Leonard (knee) OUT
GAME PREVIEW
The Phoenix Suns have the opportunity to close out their first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers today, and oddsmakers feel pretty confident in their ability with their double-digit point spread.
Teams who take a 3-1 series emerge as winners 95% of the time. but Los Angeles looks to reverse that script.
The Clippers will still be without the likes of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard in Game 5, though Los Angeles has continued to play hard without their two superstars thanks to the play of Russell Westbrook.
On the brink of elimination, the Clippers will need to Westbrook to continue his 26 points per game on 46% shooting and 7+ rebounds/assists.
The Suns - scoring the least amount of bench points out of any team in the postseason - hope to get their sparkplug in backup point guard Cameron Payne, who has missed the entire postseason with a lower back injury.
Regardless of his presence, Phoenix will continue to rely on the heavy minutes and efficiency of their superstar duo of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. Both are averaging over 40 minutes per game and 50% field goal percentage.
"Win at all costs," said Booker on Phoenix's postseason mentality ahead of Game 5.
"All the regular season stuff - the statistics, the stats, the efficiency, all that is off the table. We all have one main goal. Each game is it's own new project, and that's how we view it. Each game has it's own personality. You have to have a quick memory win or less, [move] on to the next one until the job's finished."
