Time of possession is an overrated stat in football and a non-existent one in basketball, but it’s a useful way to gauge the dominance of the Los Angeles Clippers in their 122-97 thrashing of the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of their Western Conference Semifinal series.

Put simply, the Clippers slowed the high-flying Phoenix offense by controlling the ball. The Clippers out rebounded the Suns by an incredible 57-26 and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds – two less than the Suns had on the defensive end. In other words, every time a Clipper missed a shot, it was nearly 50/50 that the his team would retain possession.

And they didn’t miss many. After shooting a scorching 59.3% in a hard-fought Game 1 loss to the Suns, the Clippers drained 49-of-90 (54.4%) in Game 2. As the series shifts to Los Angeles for games tonight and Sunday, Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni and his staff have their work cut out in resuscitating the Suns’ defense and rebounding. After all, it’s hard to score if the other team always has the ball

This series figured to be a nice microcosm of one of sports’ classic battles: size versus speed. That same drama played out in the Suns’ first-round matchup against the bigger Lakers, but the Clippers’ big men, particularly power forward Elton Brand, are more talented than anyone the Lakers put on the floor. Brand shot 18-of-22 in a 40-point masterpiece in Game 1 and followed that up with a 10-of-16 performance for 27 points in Game 2. He’s also grabbed 19 total rebounds in the series.

Slowing Brand, who averaged 24.7 points and 10 rebounds a game during the regular season, may be impossible given the Suns’ vertically challenged lineup – their tallest starter is 6-foot-8-inch Boris Diaw.

The real difference-maker in Game 2 was Clippers center Chris Kaman. A 7-footer in his third season out of Central Michigan, Kaman has improved each year, but he’s still slow afoot. In Game 1, the Suns capitalized on this weakness to swarm him on the defensive end and make him run all over the perimeter on defense. The result was minimal production – eight point and six rebounds – offset by four turnovers and numerous defensive breakdowns in a 130-123 Phoenix win.

Wednesday night’s Game 2 was a different story. Kaman played fewer minutes in order to minimize his matchup difficulties, and the Clippers spaced their offense differently to allow him more room in the paint. The result was 14 points and 16 boards. Kaman still committed four turnovers, but the Clips will live with that from a guy putting up a double-double in 23 minutes. One of his turnovers came on a behind-the-back-pass to Brand on a fast break, an indication of Kaman’s comfort level in the game.

The spacing of the Clippers’ offense benefited their big men, but it was the result of their smallest player, point guard Sam Cassell. Cassell is matched up against two-time defending MVP Steve Nash. Let’s be polite and just say that Nash isn’t a stellar defender. In Game 1, Cassell tried to exploit that weakness by posting up Nash near the basket, allowing Suns help-defenders to swarm to the ball.

In the second half, Cassell began to use his advantage by shooting over Nash. He continued to do this in Game 2,which attracted the attention of the Suns forwards (usually Shawn Marion and Tim Thomas) away from the middle and opened up room for Brand and Kaman inside. It also allowed Clipper shooting guard Cutino Mobley to spot up all alone on the weak-side. Mobley and Cassell each scored 23 points.

The Suns weren’t a good rebounding team during the regular season – they boarded just 72.1% of their opponents’ misses, 19th in the league, and were even worse on their own glass, grabbing just 22.1% of all possible offensive rebounds. The rebounding problem has worsened since pivotman Kurt Thomas went out in February with a foot injury. If it weren’t for their turbocharged offense, which puts up points faster than most video games, this would have been huge problem. But it’s important to remember that in Game 1, the Suns were only outrebounded 39-34,a margin they can live with.

The Suns’ available options for improving their play inside aren’t particularly attractive. Bench warmers Brian Grant and Pat Burke are the only other interior players on the roster. An alternative that the Suns should consider is moving reserve guard Leandro Barbosa into the starting lineup.

Barbosa is having a breakout postseason. In Game 2, he was one of the few Suns with a pulse, scoring 18 points in 35 minutes. Given starters’ minutes, Barbosa’s offense would be a boost, but his real value would be in covering Cassell, because it would enable Diaw, Marion, and Thomas to be more active in the paint and make life difficult for Kaman.

Without more activity from the Phoenix front line this weekend, the Suns will fall into the same 3-1 hole they found themselves in during the Lakers series, but the comeback this time will prove much more difficult. The Clippers have shown that by dominating the glass, they are adept at controlling the pace of the game.