The only NBA playoff action scheduled for Monday night is Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns at 9:00 p.m. EST. After defeating the Clippers, 84-80, in Game 4 on Saturday, the Suns will look to try and advance to the NBA Finals now that they have the 3-1 series lead. With such high stakes being on the line, tonight’s game should be a memorable one.
Here’s a look at that odds heading into Monday’s Game 5, courtesy of BetOnline.
NBA Odds: Los Angeles Clippers (No. 4) vs Phoenix Suns (No. 2) Game 6
Odds via BetOnline as of Monday, June 28
- Series: PHX leads 3-1
- Time: 9:00 p.m. EST
- Moneyline: Clippers (+190) vs Suns (-220)
- Point Spread: Clippers: +5.5 (-113), Suns: -5.5 (-107)
- Total: 214.5 — Over (-110), Under (-110)
Clippers Face Elimination
Tonight’s game is the biggest one of the NBA postseason so far for the Clippers as they face the prospect of elimination. Once again, they’ll be without superstar Kawhi Leonard, so the responsibility will lie on the remaining players. That means that Paul George needs to have a better performance than he did in Game 4. While George ended the last matchup with a double-double (23 PTS, 16 REB), he did so on mediocre .250/.111/.667 shooting splits. There’s just no way that the Clippers can back into the NBA Western Conference Finals with that sort of shooting from their best player.
If they want to cut this series down to one game, the Clippers are going to need to shoot a lot better than they did in Game 4 (.325/.161/.656). The onus also falls on Los Angeles’ secondary players to keep their NBA Championship hopes alive. Reggie Jackson, who’s become the team’s second-best player in Leonard’s absence, shot 8-for-24 from the field (.333) in Game 4, including 2-for-9 from the 3-point line (.222). Marcus Morris also had his five straight single-digit performance too. Losing Leonard has clearly taken a toll on the Clippers in Round 3 and it’s becoming evident that they can’t replace his production.
NBA Odds: Will the Suns Advance to the Finals?
At -220 odds, BetOnline is favoring the Suns to advance to the NBA Finals with a victory tonight. One way they can get there is by another big performance by Deandre Ayton. Even though his team only netted 84 points in Game 4, the 22-year-old center had 19 of those points while recording a game-high 22 rebounds. Considering how he’s averaged 20.3 PPG and 13.5 RPG on the series, look for Ayton to have another impressive performance tonight.
After a disappointing showing with his newly broken nose, Devin Booker decided to remove his face mask in Game 4, which led to him leading the team with 25 points. However, his total could’ve been higher as he was an uncharacteristic 0-for-5 from the 3-point line. At the same time, the Suns just didn’t shoot the ball well from beyond the arc, going 4-for-20 as a team. Considering how the team won by just 4 points, Phoenix is lucky that the Clippers shot even worse than them. They can’t guarantee that happening two games in a row, so they’ll need to be more disciplined and successful when it comes to shot selection.
However, a lot of the attention tonight will be on 10-time All-NBA point guard Chris Paul. At 36 years old, Paul has the opportunity to play in the NBA Finals for the first time in his career. While he’s accomplished just about everything else in his career, this is the one accolade that’s alluded him. He’s averaging 16.5 PPG/3.0 RPG/9.5 APG since returning from COVID-19 protocol for Game 3, so watch for Paul to be an important factor in any potential Suns’ victory.
