NBA Playoffs Odds 2021: Suns Open as Early Favorites over Clippers in West Final
Ahead of the Western Conference Finals, the Phoenix Suns are favored to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers.
Per FanDuel Sportsbook, the Suns are receiving -225 odds (bet $225 to win $100) to beat the Clippers (+188) and reach the NBA Finals.
The Suns have won eight of their first 10 playoff games, including a four-game sweep of the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals.
By the time they play their first game against Los Angeles on Sunday, the Suns will have had six days of rest. They are looking to make the NBA Finals for the first time since 1993.
Both teams enter this series with significant question marks. Phoenix point guard Chris Paul is out indefinitely after he was placed in the NBA's health and safety protocols Wednesday.
Suns head coach Monty Williams told reporters he wasn't going to speculate about Paul's potential availability for Game 1.
"I'm not even going to go there until I have to, so there's no reason for me to be pessimistic at all," Williams said. "We just have to wait and see what's going to happen."
The Clippers advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history by winning four straight games against the Utah Jazz after losing the first two contests in the series.
Terance Mann anchored Los Angeles' second-half rally in Game 6 on Friday night to erase a 22-point halftime deficit for a 131-119 win. The 24-year-old dropped 39 points on 15-of-21 shooting.
Mann was starting for the second straight game after Kawhi Leonard injured his knee late in Game 4. Sports Illustrated's Farbod Esnaashari reported Leonard suffered a sprained ACL.
It's unclear if Leonard will return this postseason.
The Clippers and Suns will play Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET at Talking Stick Resort Arena.
