Is the Phoenix Suns' fate sealed after Chris Paul injury, Game 2 loss to the Lakers?
Could the Lakers finally be hitting their championship stride?
That might be an overstatement after one win in the first round, but maybe so.
The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Phoenix Suns in a hard-fought, 109-102 Game 2 win Tuesday, tying their first-round series 1-1.
Superstars Anthony Davis and LeBron James, along with co-stars Dennis Schroder and Andre Drummond, led the way toward the defending champs regaining their momentum and wresting home court from the Suns in the series.
Davis made a living from the free-throw line. He went 18-for-21 from the charity stripe and finished the game with 32 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks. James registered 23 points and nine assists.
Schroder went off for 24 points – his first 20-point performance since April 26 – while Drummond scored 15 points and added 12 rebounds.
The biggest concern for the Suns, however, is not the Lakers. It's not having Chris Paul at 100 percent.
Despite playing 23 minutes Tuesday, the Suns’ point guard finished the game 2-for-5 for a dismal six points, five assists and three rebounds as he dealt with the ramifications of a right shoulder contusion suffered during Sunday’s Game 1.
Phoenix head coach Monty Williams pulled Paul midway through the fourth quarter, and he didn’t come back into the game for the final seven minutes, when the Suns were on the precipice of a comeback.
Paul averaged 16.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 8.9 assists in the 2020-21 regular season, and in his 16-year NBA career, he has raised the win percentage of every franchise he has joined.
This begs the question: Do the Suns have a chance at a comeback with a banged-up Paul, or is their fate sealed after the loss in Game 2?
On Wednesday’s "First Things First," Brandon Marshall was none too optimistic about Phoenix's chances to take three more wins off the Lakers, calling it a wrap.
"The series is over because you don’t have your general on the court," Marshall said. "He’s almost like Peyton Manning out there. That’s who [Paul] is: Tom Brady, being able to beat guys with his mindset, his mentality and his basketball IQ. It’s tough to see this, and this is like the third time this has happened. … It’s just terrible for a guy that we all want to see win a title one day."
On "Undisputed," Shannon Sharpe dove deeper into Paul’s injury and the impact it will have on this series, noting something troubling regarding CP3 that happened before the game even started.
"The Lakers played championship defense, and I just don’t know without Chris Paul," Sharpe said. "I knew the Suns were in trouble when they were getting ready for the tip, and I saw somebody had to help Chris Paul take his warm-up off. I said, ‘That ain’t good.' When somebody’s gotta help you take your clothes off, [you’re] in a bad, bad predicament, and that’s what I saw last night. [The Suns] are in a bad predicament."
Sharpe's co-host, Skip Bayless, went as far as to predict a gentleman's sweep of the Suns in light of CP3’s injury.
"I’m here to declare, this series is now tied 1-1, and it is over," Skip said bluntly. "It’s sad because Chris Paul has regularly been hurt in big playoff series. Just when you think he’s in the right spot at the right time … it’s always something with Chris Paul. … Here we go again with Chris Paul. I’m pretty sure he’s basically shut down, done, so I don’t even expect him to play Thursday.
"This is a cakewalk [for the Lakers]."
Sharpe, for the record, joked that whether Paul is out or returns to full health, nothing can save the Suns now.
"Star Wars, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia – bring ‘em all! Lakers in 5," Sharpe said.
While it appears that the Lakers are in the driver's seat in this series, FOX Sports NBA analyst Chris Broussard thinks there is still a chance for Phoenix to make the Lakers sweat a bit.
"This doesn’t have the feel of Brooklyn-Boston or even of Dallas-Clippers," Broussard said. "When I hear ‘in control,' I’m thinking, ‘Did you demoralize your opponent yet?’ And last night, the Lakers did not demoralize Phoenix. There comes a point in series, especially ones where one team is heavily favored, where everybody knows which team is better. … We’re not there in this series.
"If I’m Phoenix, I’m feeling good. We just played two games against the defending champions, most of our players are in their first-ever playoff series, and we played it without … our inspirational leader ... [Paul] was probably at 50 percent, if that, and we are at a split."
After trailing by seven at the top of the fourth quarter, the Suns took the lead (88-86) at the 6:14 mark of the final frame, thanks to a Deandre Ayton dunk. It was at that point that the Lakers went on a 14-4 run to take a 100-92 lead with two minutes left.
Devin Booker, who finished the game with 31 points, scored 10 points in the fourth. They all came on free throws, as he failed to make a shot in the fourth quarter, going 0-for-3 from the floor.
In short, things might have been different had Paul been available.
The Suns and Lakers now head to Staples Center for Games 3 and 4 – foreign territory for members of both teams.
But what will be most foreign for the Suns is if Paul is on the sideline more than between the lines.
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