In a surprise to many, the Clippers stole Game 1 on the road in Phoenix to hand the Suns their first loss with Kevin Durant in the lineup.
Since it acquired the star forward at the trade deadline, Phoenix had amassed an 8-0 record with Durant in the lineup. In Game 1, Kawhi Leonard wasted no time making a resounding statement that he is back to full strength, trading punches with the Suns' star power even with Paul George out for the series due to injury.
Leonard was a menace on both ends of the floor in Game 1, going off for 38 points while bringing a former Defensive Player of the Year-caliber effort on the other end, making Durant work for every bucket. The rest of the Clippers followed his lead, as Russell Westbrook and company were able to throw the Suns out of rhythm to set the tone in the series.
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In danger of falling into a 2-0 hole with the series heading to Los Angeles, Game 2 felt like a must-win situation for Phoenix. In response, Durant, Devin Booker and Chris Paul responded by getting back to what the trio does best — torching teams in the midrange.
Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Chris Paul: Monsters of the Midrange
In today's NBA, most shot charts you'll see are marked up on the 3-point line and in the paint. With an increased focus on 3s, layups and free throws, the midrange has become a bit of a lost art.
That is, of course, unless you have three of the best midrange shooters in the league on one team. Durant, Booker and Paul's shot chart from Game 2 was scattered a lot more than we're used to seeing, and the trio was lights out from their sweet spots.
The Clippers did a great job of trying to take those looks away from the Suns in Game 1 with a variety of pick-and-roll coverages, double-teams and zones, but head coach Monty Williams made all of the right adjustments to free up his stars in between contests.
Their midrange-heavy approach in Game 2 was like death by a thousand paper cuts for the Clippers.
| Game 1: FGM-FGA | Game 2: FGM-FGA | |
| Kevin Durant | 3-7 (6 PTS) | 7-10 (14 PTS) |
| Devin Booker | 3-7 (6 PTS) | 6-12 (12 PTS) |
| Chris Paul | 1-4 (2 PTS) | 7-10 (14 PTS) |
| Total | 7-21 (14 PTS) | 20-32 (40 PTS) |
So, what did the Suns do differently to create 40 points from their star trio in the midrange?
All three of Booker, Paul and Durant feasted on the Clippers' bigs in pick-and-rolls, with Deandre Ayton setting higher screens to let quicker shot-creators get downhill against slower players like Ivica Zubac and Mason Plumlee.
Paul was hunting mismatches, knocking down tough contested midrange shots in a similar fashion we've seen from the future Hall of Fame guard for nearly two decades in the NBA.
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Booker made the Clippers pay any time they tried to double-team Durant, attacking slow rotations to get to his spots and rise up.
The Suns also did a much better job of screening for Durant off the ball, giving the all-time great scorer just enough breathing room from Leonard's physical defense to get a look at the rim.
After a rough series debut, Phoenix made offense look easy in Game 2.
"They're midrange shooters. They're great at it. It's like layups for them," Leonard stated clearly after Game 2.
"They're a good midrange shooting team. It's just making sure we contest them," Westbrook added. "... If they shoot them, that's fine, but we just have to make sure we contest them and make sure we're in their vision to make those a little more tougher than normal."
Ahead of Game 3, it's the Clippers' turn to adjust and find a way to stop the Suns' dynamic scoring trio from getting to their hot spots on the floor.
