the Suns - a team he’s torched repeatedly throughout his career. Speaking of Jamal Murray, the Blue Arrow absolutely has to be licking his chops at the prospect of getting seven games vs.
SUNS VS NUGGETS THIS SEASON SERIES
Will Williams decide to help off Gordon and throw double-teams in Jokic’s direction? Will Malone insist Jokic play at the level of the screen in pick-and-roll, rather than get carved apart like what happened two seasons ago? Between these two offensive juggernauts, this series will likely come down to defense, and Denver might have better personnel for the job. Edge: NuggetsĬoaching: Flash back to the 2010-11 season, and guess who you’ll find on Monty Williams’ coaching staff in New Orleans? That’d be current Nuggets coach Michael Malone. Between Braun, Brown and Green, the Nuggets may be able to take advantage of some beleaguered legs, especially as the series gets deeper. Forget that the Suns’ starters have already logged significant minutes. As a result, the Nuggets’ bench may play an outsized role in this series. Edge: Nuggetsīench: The Suns’ depth is hanging out somewhere in Brooklyn after the Durant trade robbed Phoenix of some key pieces. Expect an aggressive Jokic to do his work early and try to land Ayton in foul trouble. Length (or defense) isn’t necessarily Phoenix’s strength. If the Timberwolves backlogged the paint in the first round, it will be the opposite this round with ample room to roam. But this series is made for Joker, who averaged 31 points, 16.5 rebounds and 12 assists vs. Jokic appreciates how Ayton has focused on his role rather than worrying about his place within Phoenix’s depth chart.
Edge: Suns, slightly.īig men: Is Nikola Jokic playing mind games by publicly touting Deandre Ayton as a difficult matchup? The guess is no. Due to Phoenix’s depth, old friend Torrey Craig will play a bigger role than you might expect. Durant raved about Porter on Friday, deeming him an X-factor for the series. And the Suns still need to stop Gordon on the glass and Michael Porter Jr. If Gordon gets into foul trouble, it may mean Jeff Green, Braun or even (gasp!) Watson gets the call. If Gordon can minimize Durant’s impact, he’ll have done his job. His size, strength and athleticism will be essential to living in Durant’s space. They know that he prefers going left, yet that only goes so far in terms of stopping him. Brown was teammates with Durant in Brooklyn, and Peyton Watson is friends with him off the court. His ability to shred defenses, particularly when paired with Booker, is terrifying. It doesn’t matter that Kevin Durant’s played just 13 games with the Suns. Wings: When you acquire one of the NBA’s all-time scorers at the trade deadline, you instantly vault yourself into title contention.
The Nuggets kept their lineup the same for every contest during their series with the Trail Blazers, so that remains likely to stay intact as well.Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menuĭenver renews cable television franchise with Comcast through 2028 to chagrin of sports fans With the Suns now relatively healthy, expect them to paste their lineup from their previous series over onto this game’s card. Phoenix Suns vs Denver Nuggets Projected Lineups
Although this series seems likely to go deep, the Suns certainly enter as the favorites. The Nuggets won the regular season series against the Suns 2-1, but each game occurred over five months ago, and included Murray as Jokic’s second hand man. Nikola Jokic just keeps balling, now averaging 33.0 points per game during the postseason while shooting 41.8 percent from deep. Managing injuries decently well for themselves, the Nuggets looked solid against the Portland Trail Blazers despite missing Will Barton, PJ Dozier, and of course Jamal Murray. Though Chris Paul suffered an early shoulder injury limiting his play, he appeared far less rocky during Phoenix’s last three games, helping them knock out the Los Angles Lakers after six games. Devin Booker continues to lead this team with 29.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game, with Deandre Ayton stepping up beside him averaging 15.8 points and 10.7 rebounds per game for himself. But the Phoenix Suns remain undeniably estranged to this grand stage though, having formerly missed out on the playoffs entirely for the last 11 years.īut based on their performance thus far, you might guess this Phoenix team has been here many times before. The Denver Nuggets stand as no strangers to the Western Conference Finals, reaching this preliminary stage to the NBA Finals last year, but losing to the Los Angeles Lakers after five games. By Collin Helwig 2 years ago The Phoenix Suns take on the Denver Nuggets next with a trip to the Western Conference Finals up for grabs.
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