Whether it was big-game inexperience, or Monty Williams getting his ass out-coached by Tyronn Lue, the Suns failed to seize the moment. They had a golden opportunity to close out the Western Conference finals by eliminating the banged-up Clippers at home this past Monday. Instead, they made uncharacteristic mistakes and were caught off-guard by the Clippers switching to a small ball lineup.

Phoenix is 19-7 ATS following a loss. I expect the Suns to bounce back and beat the crippled Clippers, who are down Kawhi Leonard and possibly starting center Ivica Zubac again. Leonard is one of the top-five all-around players in the league. Zubac, who missed Game 5 with a knee injury, has an LA-best plus 25 ratio during the first four games of the series. He's probably LA's most underrated player.

The Suns have a full deck now. They had a top-six defense during the regular season and rank No. 2 defensively in the playoffs. Thanks to the steady hand of Chris Paul, the Suns rarely make mistakes. Devin Booker is as dangerous a scorer as Paul George and Deandre Ayton has stepped up to earn stardom during this series.

I don't see the Clippers catching the Suns off-guard, like on Monday, with a small-ball lineup. Until that game, the Suns had proven worthy against small-ball lineups.

Phoenix has no experience closing out a Western Conference final. But the Suns are the better team. The pressure on them is less severe being on the road. This is their time.