Game one was a prime example of what getting outplayed and hustled on the glass against an opponent is like. Unfortunately, the opponent that got outplayed and hustled on the glass was the Suns in the loss to the Clippers on Sunday.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Heading into Game 2 in what should be a dogfight between the two teams, one of the things that the Suns need to do a better job of in this game is starting the game much faster while also doing a better job of boxing out and crashing boards off the glass.
In Game 1, there were key moments when the Suns did their job and turned defense into offense which led to a huge third-quarter run to put the Suns ahead late in the quarter.
The Suns are ROLLING 🔥 pic.twitter.com/NsN42XqGZf
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 17, 2023
The Clippers rank bottom of the league in fast break points. On Sunday, they finished the game with 25 transition points which led to one of the reasons why the Clippers came away with a huge win on Sunday.
The effort on the glass, more noticeably late in the fourth quarter, was one of the key reasons why this is a point of emphasis going into tonight’s game. Head coach Monty Williams alluded to this issue after the game.
“I think they had about three or four possessions where they got like four cracks at it because we couldn’t secure the rebound,” Williams said. “And if you look at the defensive possessions, if you just get the rebound, the numbers are extremely in our favor. So we gave them 14 offensive rebounds tonight, but timely ones.”
Kevin Durant who had 27 points and 11 assists in the contest echoed a similar sentiment in the loss as well. However, when they had that big-time run in the third quarter, it was noted by a lot of the players that that type of brand of basketball is the ingredient for them to win this series.
“We just got stops and we were able to get out and run and just play off the pass, play off the pick-and-roll, just make quick decisions once we got stops,” Durant said. “So I think that’s the name of the game for us is getting the rebound, getting out and going and find the play from there.”
The name of the game is defense and rebounding. The Suns can take a look at what Russell Westbrook did in Game 1 and replicate that energy into themselves for game 2. Despite starting the game slow, they still put up 110 in their sleep which goes to show how talented offensively they are.
If they can just do a better job attacking the glass and playing solid defense, I expect them to bounce back and win.
