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ESPN Analyst Believes a Healthy Clippers Team Beats the Phoenix Suns

ESPN's Tim Legler believes a healthy LA Clippers team would have beaten the Phoenix Suns.

Joey Linn

© Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

With the Phoenix Suns on the verge of elimination, one ESPN analyst believes that they are lucky to even be in the NBA Finals. On The Lowe Post's latest episode, ESPN analyst Tim Legler stated that the Phoenix Suns would not be in the NBA Finals had the Lakers, Clippers, and Nuggets not all had injuries to their superstar or co-star.

This assertion from Legler is certain to receive pushback from Suns fans, who accurately declare that a team can only play whoever is in front of them, but that is not the argument Legler is seeking to make. In fact, Legler actually compliments the Suns throughout the course of his podcast segment, stating that they have indeed emerged as a contender, and are officially on the map. While that is all true, Legler's argument is solely focused on the Phoenix Suns' true ceiling with this roster had their competition been as healthy as they were.

For the Clippers, they should certainly feel as if a healthy Kawhi Leonard pushes them past Phoenix and into the NBA Finals. Before the Game 6 blowout, the Clippers had actually outscored the Phoenix Suns throughout the course of the Western Conference Finals. Adding in the combination of Ivica Zubac and Serge Ibaka's injuries, there is undeniably a logical case to be made that the Suns would not have advanced past a healthy Clippers team.

While Legler's assertion will be primarily looked at through the lens of what it means for Phoenix, the Clippers should use it as a reminder that they are exceedingly close to where they want to be. With marginal roster improvements and a clean injury report, the Clippers can enter the 2021-22 NBA season confident that they have what it takes to reach that next level.

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined Sports Illustrated's FanNation to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams during his time in school. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts, combined with his excellence in the classroom, earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time across multiple platforms, primarily serving as a credentialed Clippers beat writer.

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