That was the whole point of this game between the Lakers and the Warriors: avoiding a second game against Memphis and getting his ticket to face the Suns in the first round of the Playoffs. Apparently, it motivated LeBron James who will find his old friend, Chris Paul, on a best of seven series on Sunday.
All that for this ! By dominating the regular season almost like no one (only the Jazz have a better record), the Suns probably did not imagine having to grapple with the defending champions in the first round to celebrate their return to the Playoffs after 11 years of famine. Unfortunately for the Cacti, it was all a combination of circumstances and the chain of injuries that brought the Lakers down to seventh in the West. Unfortunately again, everyone is now able to play and it is therefore the armada purple and gold in full force who will show up at the Talking Stick Resort Arena on Sunday to do battle with the Suns. A little grumpy about having to go through a play-in tournament to qualify for the Playoffs, LeBron James has already activated the mode postseason before even getting down to the real business and that’s not good news for Devin Booker and his pals either. But we must not forget all that allowed Phoenix to grab this well-deserved place which will allow them in particular to take advantage of the home ground up to potential Conference finals.
We are not there yet, but it is already an element that counts when anticipating the preview of this series against the Lakers. Monty Williams also had the luxury of being able to rest his executives during the last night of the regular season on Sunday night which meant that Chris Paul, D-Book, Jae Crowder and Deandre Ayton (with knee injuries for a few games) will all have had a full week’s rest before crossing paths with Unibrow and his clique. Despite everything, we should be entitled to a series much closer than what the seeding could suggest, especially since we can say half-word that the two teams find themselves in the good part of the table within the Western Conference. No offense towards Denver or Portland, but the Clippers seem more feared and a potential meeting with Kawhi Leonard can only take place in the Conference final. Finally, for the betting team, the outcome of this series seems undecided but Phoenix has won two of the three direct confrontations this season.
Unable to play together, LeBron James and Chris Paul will still be able to make new memories together even if one of the two will necessarily keep a little bitter taste in the mouth when remembering this series. From a pure fan point of view, we necessarily have one of the most hyped series of this first round of the Playoffs and very clever who can ensure without trembling of the chin that he already knows the outcome of this series. Let the show begin !
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