The first western conference semifinals showdown between the Suns and The Lone Rangers will begin at 10 a.m. on May 3, a showdown between the first and fourth places in the West in the regular season. The two sides have met 3 times in the regular season, the Suns won 3-0, this time the two teams met in the Western Conference semifinals, who can advance to the finals?
The Suns eliminated the Pelicans 4-2 in the first round of the playoffs to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals, averaging 94.8 (9th) in six playoff games, scoring 111.3 points (4th), rebounding 35.7 (15th), assisting 26.8 (2nd), steals 7.8 (7th), blocking 4 (9th), shooting 52.3% (1st), shooting 31.9% from three-point range (13th), and shooting 80.7% from the free throw range (5th). Three-point shooting was 27.2 (15th), three-point shooting was 8.7 (15th), turnovers were 11 (ranked 14th), offensive efficiency was 117.8 (4th), and defensive efficiency was 115.6 (11th).
The Lone Rangers eliminated the Jazz 4-2 to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals, averaging 91.3 (15th) in six playoff games, 104.7 points (12th), 37.7 rebounds (13th), 19.3 assists (14th), 6.5 steals (12th), 2.3 blocks (16th), 44.4% shooting (12th), 37.1% three-point shooting (6th), and 78.9% free-throw shooting (8th), Three-point shooting 41.8 (1st), 15.5 three-point shooting (1st), 8.7 turnovers (ranked 16th), offensive efficiency 114.8 (8th), defensive efficiency 108.4 (5th).
Judging from the playoff data of both teams, the Suns are mostly leading the way, especially the shooting percentage is the highest in the league. The Lone Rangers have a better three-point situation, not only do they shoot more shots, they also shoot more, plus they have better rebounding and turnover control than the Suns.
Since the opponents of the two sides in the playoffs are different, just looking at these data can not fully show the strength of the two sides, let's look at the two sides in 4 regular season games:
On November 18 last year, the Suns won 105-98 at home to the Lone Rangers, and Doncic was absent in this game, and the Suns relied on Ayton's dunk and Booker's three-pointer to kill the game. Booker had 24 points and nine rebounds, Ayton had 19 points and 13 rebounds, Paul had 7 points and 14 assists; Porzingis had 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, Brunson had 18 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, and Hardaway Jr. had 22 points.
On November 20 last year, the Suns won 112-104 at home to the Lone Rangers, and Doncic continued to be absent, and the Suns relied on Payne's key free throws to seal the victory. Booker had 19 points, Ayton had 8 points and 17 rebounds, Paul had 18 points, five rebounds and 14 assists, Bridges had 19 points; Porzingis had 23 points and 12 rebounds, Brunson had 18 points and 10 assists, and Hardaway Jr. had 18 points.
On January 21 this year, the Suns won 109-101 on the road to the Lone Rangers, and the Suns played a 9-0 climax in the final quarter, after which Biyombo continued to create kills to lock in the victory. Booker had 28 points, five rebounds and six assists, Paul 20 points, five rebounds and 11 assists, 9 points for Biyombo; Doncic had 28 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Porzingis had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Brunson had 19 points and five rebounds.
In terms of regular season record, the Suns have an absolute advantage of 3-0, but these three games are before the Lone Ranger big deal, Platinum is still in the team, and two Doncic are absent.
Suns playoff lineup: Starting as Booker, Ayton, Paul, Bridges and Crowder. Substitutes Johnson, Payne, McGee, Shamet, Billombo, Holliday. The manager is Monti.
Lone Rangers playoff lineup: Starting as Doncic, Brunson, Smith, Powell, Bullock. The substitutes are Ding Weidi, Kléber, Bertans, Green and Boban. The manager is Kidd.
From the perspective of lineup alignment, the Suns interior line Ayton + McGee + Biyongbo against the Lone Ranger Team Powell + Boban. The inside Suns have a clear advantage, Ayton averaged 20.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game in the playoffs this year, and Dame Kee also had a good performance. Powell, on the Lone Ranger side, has only 4.2 points and 3.7 rebounds, and Boban is a mascot who has no chance to play unless he is ahead or behind by a big score.
Strike against Suns Bridges + Crowder + Johnson vs. Lone Rangers Smith + Bullock + Kleber + Bertans. The forward Suns also have the advantage, with Ohashi averaging 17.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, Crowder is a superb 3D, and Huang Zhong's three-pointer is a must. On the Lone Ranger side, Smith, Bullock, and Kleber all have the ability to average 10 points per game, which is a competent role player, and Bertans relies too much on the feel.
Backcourt against Suns Booker + Paul + Payne + Shamet + Holliday vs. Lone Ranger Doncic + Brunson + Dinwiddie + Green. The backcourt should be said to have a certain advantage for the Lone Ranger. Booker and Doncic are all recently returning from injury, and there is still room for improvement in their form, but Booker has Paul, the best helper, and does not have to play as tired as Doncic, Booker basically just needs to concentrate on scoring, and Doncic also shoulders the burden of combing the whole team's attack.
Brunson exploded in the playoffs, scoring 27.8 points on 48 percent shooting, which is already superstar stats. Paul's key ball ability is excellent, and his problem is that his physical strength does not allow him to output high intensity all the time. Dinwiddie also scored 15.3 points in the playoffs, and he led the second team to play quite well.
Both Monty and Kidd are excellent coaches, With Monty's tactics more delicate and the Suns' playing style more mature. Kidd is more defensive, the Lone Ranger's offense is also more dependent on Doncic's personal ability to initiate, the Lone Ranger's average assists per game is 7 times less than the Suns, which also shows that they rely more on singles to solve problems.
Combined with the above, the Suns are more efficient in offense, especially in the middle distance, while the Lone Ranger's three-point shooting ability is even better. Both sides have superstar presses, and both have executors of key shots. The Suns interior line is a lot stronger than the Lone Ranger inside line, and I think the inside line showdown also determines the outcome of this series, of course, the Lone Ranger also has the possibility of winning one or two games, I expect the Suns to eliminate the Lone Ranger 4-2.
Thank you for reading, welcome to like and follow, and leave your valuable comments.