Tag: Suns

NBA PLAYOFFS RECAP: 06/24/2021Written by Titan Frey

Posted on by Titan Frey in Basketball, NBA, NBA Playoffs, Sports
  • SUNS 92
  • CLIPPERS 106 

The Los Angeles Clippers have just recorded their first conference finals win in their history. 

How did they do it? Well, they went down 0-2 in the series like the previous two, that’s how. 

Let me explain to those who may be confused. The Clippers for some reason seem to start playing after falling 0-2 in their series in these 2021 playoffs.

They did it in the first round against the Dallas Mavericks. Then they followed that up by falling 0-2 against the Denver Nuggets in the second round. 

Finally, after falling 0-2 against the hottest team in the playoffs, the Phoenix Suns, the Clippers flipped that switch. 

Even with the return of Chris Paul, the Clippers outworked the Suns all night to basically cruise to the win. 

One big adjustment in this series, which has helped the Clippers get a win is the switch to put Patrick Beverley on Devin Booker.

Booker’s shooting in the past two games where Beverley has been his primary defender has been terrible. Booker is a combined 10-37 in the last two games. 

If the Suns want to bounce back in game four (June 26 at 9:00 PM Eastern Standard Time), then Booker will have to figure out how to beat the defense of Beverley. 

NBA PLAYOFFS RECAP: 06/22/2021

Posted on by Titan Frey in Basketball, NBA, NBA Playoffs, Sports

Written by Titan Frey 

  • CLIPPERS 103
  • SUNS 104

The Los Angeles Clippers vs the Phoenix Suns game two is in the books. The game saw a lot of sloppy play, some headbanging that led to a possible broken nose, and some bad officiating. 

But I’m going to skip all that and go right to the end of the game. That’s when things got wild. There were some big key moments at the end of the game, including a game-winner that will go down in history. 

First, let’s discuss the use of replay down the stretch of a game. Yes, you want the officials to get the call right, but boy does it hamper the flow of the game and give an advantage to certain teams. 

The last 90 seconds of the game took 33 REAL minutes. There were as many reviews (5) as field goals (5) in that span. 

It also gave the Suns, who were out of timeouts a chance to set up the play to win the game… but we’ll get back to that in a second. 

Paul George is someone who was heavily criticized for his bad playoff performances. These playoffs, especially of late, he’s been playing at an extremely high level.

That can be said of this game as well, but in the crucial moments of the game, with 8.2 seconds to go and a one-point lead, George missed two free throws and the chance to ice the game. 

Fast-forward to .9 seconds to go. After another review enabled the Suns to set up a play, the Suns ran that play to perfection.

Deandre Ayton curled off a wonderful screen by Devin Booker and headed straight for the hoop. There, he found the ball from a beautiful inbounds pass from Jae Crowder and slammed it home, beating the buzzer.

It was a great play the Suns’ coach Monty Williams drew up, but again he shouldn’t have been able to draw it up with no timeouts, but thanks to replay review, he was able to. 

Game three will shift to Los Angeles. The Clippers have gone down 0-2 in both of their first two series and come back to win. Can they do it a third time?

Game three will be played on Thursday, June 24th at 9:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. 

NBA PLAYOFFS RECAP: 06/20/2021

Posted on by Titan Frey in Basketball, NBA, NBA Playoffs, Sports

Written by Titan Frey 

  • CLIPPERS 114
  • SUNS 120

After their long stretch off, many people wondered if the Suns would be rusty in game one. Many people believed they’d struggle without Chris Paul in the lineup. 

People were also betting that the Clippers would have more momentum from playing just two days prior. 

Yet, when the game started, the team from Phoenix proved the sun still burned hot. 

The Clippers also came out hot, and Paul George had another great game to continue to silence his haters with 34 points. But on this afternoon, the game belonged to the Suns’ Devin Booker. 

Booker did everything in game one, including running the point down the stretch of the game. Now, Booker isn’t Chris Paul at the point, but on this day, he came pretty damn close. 

Booker seemed to make the right pass every single time and of course, since we’re talking about Booker, he made every big shot down the stretch of the game. 

Booker finished with 40 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists… this was Booker’s first career triple-double. 

It was also the Suns’ first playoff triple-double since Steve Nash accomplished the feat in 2005.

Booker became the third-youngest player in NBA playoff history to record a 40 point triple-double. Only Oscar Robinson and Luka Dončić were younger.

The series resumes on Tuesday, June 22nd at 9:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. The big questions now are, can the Clippers finally avoid an 0-2 hole?

Will Kawhi Leonard be healthy enough to play? And will Chris Paul be off the NBA’s health and safety protocol to play in game two?

I know I can’t wait. Can you?

  • HAWKS 103
  • SIXERS 96

If I told you Trae Young would shoot 1-12 in the first half and 2-17 with nine minutes to go in the game, you’d think the Hawks lost, right?

Well, in this game seven, the Atlanta Hawks stunned the number one seeded Philadelphia 76ers in game seven, in Philly. 

Young scored 21 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter. He also had 10 assists. After his horrible shooting start, Young finished shooting 5-23.

Kevin Huerter picked up the slack for the Hawks when Young was struggling. He scored 27 on 10-18 shooting.

Joel Embiid played well for the Sixers. Embiid scored 31 while grabbing 11 rebounds. 

Tobias Harris also played well for the Sixers. Harris scored 24 while grabbing 14 rebounds, but he did struggle with his shooting (8-24).

The big problem for the Sixers was Ben Simmons. It’s not even about stats, it’s about his inability to hit free throws and his unwillingness to shoot the ball. 

If the Sixers want to take that next step in the NBA, they may want to consider trading Simmons. 

The Hawks will now face the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals which starts Wednesday, June 23rd at 8:30 PM Eastern Standard Time. 

NBA PLAYOFFS RECAP: 06/18/2021

Posted on by Titan Frey in Basketball, NBA, NBA Playoffs, Sports


Written by Titan Frey


I originally planned on writing an article on the three wonderful game sevens we were going to have this weekend. Then, the Los Angeles Clippers messed up my plans… more on that in a second. 

  • SIXERS 104
  • HAWKS 99

The Philadelphia 76ers finally held on to their lead to win and force a game seven on Sunday, June 20th at 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. 


Joel Embiid struggled with his shot (9-24), but he played his overall solid game (22 points, 13 rebounds). 


Seth Curry also had another good game with 24 points, but the key to the Sixers victory was Tyrese Maxey.


Maxey scored a crucial 16 points in addition to playing tough defense on Hawks star Trae Young.


Maxey also played five more minutes than the struggling Ben Simmons, which seemed to be the right move.


The big question now is, which team will execute better in game seven? With both their seasons on the line, this game should turn out to be a good one.

  • JAZZ 119
  • CLIPPERS 131


Now, let’s get back to the Jazz vs Clippers game. The Jazz held a commanding 25 point lead at one point in the third quarter, and the Clippers’ curse seemed to be alive and well.


Then, the most unexpected thing happened… the Clippers rallied back. Who led the charge? If you thought it was Paul George, then you would be wrong. 


George started the game back as his awful old playoff self, appropriately known as “Pandemic P”. George was not the “man“ who brought the Clippers back. Instead, it was another Mann…


Yes, it was the second-year man, Terance Mann who carved through the Jazz’s defense and helped lead the comeback charge. 


Mann scored a career-high 39 points, and that’s after only having 25 total points in the series. Mann also knocked down seven three-pointers… he looked unstoppable out on the court. 


Terrance Mann wasn’t the only Clipper to lead the comeback, veteran Reggie Jackson also played big in the second half. 


Jackson scored 27 while dishing out 10 assists. Most of his points and assists came during the Clippers’ huge run. 


The Clippers also got a big performance, defensively and offensively from Patrick Beverley. 


Beverley scored 12, with three big three-pointers coming in the fourth quarter. His defense on Jazz star Donovan Mitchell
was huge. 


Paul George, who started slow, also played big down the stretch, he became “Playoff P” once more. 


George finished the game with 28 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals. 


After the game, George said this about the win: “You felt the monkey off of the Clippers’ back in terms of getting out of the second round. It was just a special night. You know you felt it, the cheers, the excitement.”


Now, the Clippers move on to play the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, at 3:30 PM Eastern Standard Time.


With Kawhi Leonard most likely out because of injury and Chris Paul out from the NBA COVID protocol, which team will have the upper hand? 


You won’t know till you watch. Make sure you tune in on Sunday. 

NBA PLAYOFFS RECAP: 06/11/2021

Posted on by Titan Frey in Basketball, NBA, NBA Playoffs, Sports

Written by Titan Frey

  • SIXERS 127
  • HAWKS 111

The city of Atlanta was buzzing before game three of the conference semifinals, between their Hawks and the top seed in the easy, the Philadelphia 76ers. 

After coming out of Philly with a split, the Hawks felt as a team; they were where they wanted to be.

It was a very familiar feeling to their first-round matchup with the New York Knicks, where they won game one, lost game two on the road, and eventually swept the rest of the series. 

Would this series against the number one seeded Sixers turn out the same? Absolutely not.

The Sixers have a couple of things going for them that the New York Knicks did not. First, the Sixers have a solid all-around team, and second, the Sixers have Joel Embiid (no offense Julius Randle).

After becoming the first Sixer to score 40 in a playoff game since Allen Iverson in 2003, in game two, Embiid followed that performance up with 27 points, 9 rebounds, and a playoff career high 8 assists.

Even though Embiid didn’t win the MVP this year, he proved once again that he sure can play like the MVP. 

This loss was a major blow to the Atlanta Hawks for numerous reasons. Of course, you don’t want to lose any game, especially at home. 

But this loss not only gave the home court advantage back to the Sixers, but before this game the Hawks were 19-2 at home since Nate McMillan took over.

Trae Young scored his normal points (28), but if the Hawks can’t figure out a way to slow Embiid, this series might not last much longer.

Game four will be played on Monday, June 14th at 7:30 PM Eastern Standard Time. 

  • SUNS 116
  • NUGGETS 102

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. The series victory against the Los Angeles Lakers gave the Phoenix Suns supreme confidence that might help carry them to the finals. 

On the night where Nikola Jokić received his MVP trophy, he came ready to show everyone that he was deserving.

Jokić had a monster game scoring 32 points, grabbing 20 rebounds, and dishing out 10 assists.

How good was this game for the MVP on MVP trophy night? Well, Jokić joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history with a 30/20/10 playoff game.

So, with this type of performance, you would figure the Nuggets got the win. The problem is, you know they didn’t. 

The reason why the Nuggets lost, even with the MVP playing like the MVP, is because the Suns had a lot more players who had pretty darn good games themselves.

The Nuggets, on the other hand, didn’t give Jokić a lot of help. Nuggets players Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. combined to score 19 points on 7-23 shooting… this is not going to get it done, not against these red-hot Suns. 

How dominant have the Phoenix Suns truly been playing? Well, in game three the Suns held a double-digit lead for the entire fourth quarter. This was their fifth straight game holding a double-digit lead in the fourth… yes, that’s how dominant they’ve been. 

Make sure you sit around your TV on Sunday, June 13 at 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time to see if the Suns remain hot or if the Nuggets can figure a way to cool them off. 

NBA PLAYOFFS RECAP: 06/09/2021 

Posted on by Titan Frey in Basketball, NBA, NBA Playoffs, Sports


Written by Titan Frey

  • NUGGETS 98
  • SUNS 123


By beating the defending champs, who have one of the greatest players on their roster, might have given the Phoenix Suns supreme confidence.


The Suns just handed the Denver Nuggets, who have this year’s MVP in Nikola Jokić, their biggest loss of the season. 


Led by Devin Booker’s 18 points and 10 rebounds, Booker was manhandling the Nuggets on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. 

Devin Booker wasn’t the only Sun to put in work. The entire team contributed with great balance. 


Every Sun starter scored in double figures, including Chris Paul, who scored 17 and gave out 15 dimes. 


Paul also had 0 turnovers, and his stat line (15+ Points, 15+ Assists, 0 Turnovers), is the third of his playoff career.


There have only been four other games with that stat line in NBA history. 


The Denver Nuggets better figure out how to get the MVP more help if they want to have any chance at getting back into this series. 


Jokić scored 24 and grabbed 13 rebounds, but without the high-scoring Jamal Murray, the Nuggets “other” players, need to give more. 


Game 3 will be played on Friday, June 11th at 10:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.