Game 6 Preview: Suns back in L.A. to attempt to eliminate the Lakers

What: Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Lakers, Suns lead series 3-2

When: 7:30 PM

Where: Staples Center

Watch: Bally Sports and TNT

Listen: 98.7 FM

Here we are in an NBA Playoffs Game Six with the Suns leading the series 3-2 with a chance to end the Lakers’ season tonight. and advance to the second round.

It won’t be easy as the game is in L.A. and even if AD doesn’t play, LeBron James likely won’t be going down without a fight.

As Coach Monty has said many times though, “Everything we want is on the other side of hard.”

After the Game Five blowout, Chris Paul said he immediately told his teammates in the locker room that Game Six would be the toughest game yet.

Let’s go!

Injury Update

Suns: Chris Paul (shoulder) - Probable / Abdel Nader (knee surgery rehab) - Out / Ty-Shon Alexander (non-Covid illness) - Out

Lakers: Anthony Davis (groin) - Questionable, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (knee) - Questionable

The Suns have been the “underdog” in this series against the defending champion Lakers and tonight is a chance for David to beat Goliath. Phoenix can end this series tonight VICTORIOUS on enemy territory. They can end the Lakers’ season tonight on their own court. Will it be easy? Absolutely not. But, if every player is on the same page, it can be done. They can leave the Lakers’ antics in Hollywood.

This quote from Coach Monty has already been on several articles and I’m sure you have seen it but it belongs here.

On preparing his team to close out a playoff series:

“We understand who we’re playing against. They’re the defending champs. We’re going back to their place. We got to be solid when we go back there, and closeout games are really hard. So our guys understand that, Chris and Jae have been in these situations. We’ll lean on their different experiences that I’ve had, (assistant coach) Willie Green, all of our coaches who have been in that situation. But we got to just play the same way. Whether it’s a closeout game or Game 1, our job is to go out and play with the force and the defense and share the ball and not think about anything else but the next right thing. And you can’t get to the closeout game or the closeout moment until you take care of, ‘First things first.’ We respect the Lakers and we know they’re going to come out with a great effort.”

Williams is right. The Suns need to respect the Lakers. They also need to know that they are beatable, as evidenced very clearly in Game 5.

It’s time for this series to be over. I’m sure the national media will talk more about where what went wrong for the Lakers but just to see that simple “Suns advance” will be good enough for me.

Let’s go, Suns!

PREDICTION

Suns win 105-96