![]() ![]() The Suns hosted the Nuggets twice at the tail-end of the season and won both games… but basically, nobody played for the Nuggets and Denver still took both games into crunch time with a chance to win. The Nuggets are 3-10 all-time against the Suns in the playoffs, only once having won a series and having been swept the last two matchups-20. And in basketball, it’s hard to beat the team with the best player. At this point, the Nuggets still have the best player in this matchup and that’s Jokic. Denver is simply way deeper than the Suns. While the Nuggets have struggled most of the season to get their bench working, Michael Malone does roll seven deep pretty confidently and has some good options for eight. They have nearly no depth and their fifth starter and sixth man bring a revolving door of question marks. Speaking of the Suns, only six players for them played more than 11 minutes per game in their first-round series. Still, the Nuggets are a bit more athletic than the Suns with noticeable advantages with Jamal Murray against Paul and Bruce Brown against the Suns bench. Meanwhile, the two were nearly tied in pace as well. ![]() This has evened out in round one of the playoffs with the two scoring nearly the same amount of transition points. The Nuggets 16.2 fastbreak points per game were fifth-best in the NBA this year while the Suns were dead last at 14.8. The Nuggets are huge, with bigger bodies than the Suns at nearly every position on the court, Denver scored five more points in the paint per game than Phoenix during the first round and the difference between the two during the regular season was the Nuggets at fourth-best (55 per game) and the Suns at sixth-worse (46 per game.) Jokic is far bigger and better than Ayton and Aaron Gordon is more of a traditional power forward who can pound inside on Durant. Size, speed strength, star power… and depth. Paul still led the NBA in assists per game last year with over 10, but his scoring is beginning to fall off, if he can turn the clocks back the Nuggets are in big trouble. He’s one of the best operators of the pick and roll, which killed the Nuggets two seasons ago as he went for 25.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 10.3 assists per game during the sweep. Paul is known as a playoff choker and has been injured for his teams at some of their biggest moments. Paul will turn 38 during this matchup with the Nuggets and he is 1-1 against Denver in playoff series, with matchups being in 20. What the Suns do or don’t get from Paul will define their fortunes in this series. It’s strange to call one of the best point guards of all-time an X-factor but CP3 truly is. The Suns are under new ownership and they shipped out some of the Suns mainstays to give Booker his best shot alongside Durant. It’s his fifth city in his storied career as he chases his third title.īooker is seeking redemption after his Suns blew a 2-0 lead against the Bucks in the finals and then were destroyed by the Mavericks in the playoffs last season. After his superteam in Brooklyn busted up, Durant asked to join the Valley’s hoops team. The once-ironman has been dealing with injuries for a few years now and hasn’t played Nikola Jokic since May 8, 2021. They chipped in 12.6 rebounds, 12.6 assists while each shot 46% from three.Įven at 34 years old and coming off an Achilles injury a few years ago, Durant is as good as he’s ever been. Each played over 43 minutes a game, combining to score 66 points of the Suns 122 per game. In the first round of the playoffs against a hobbled Clippers team, the two were marvelous. Kevin Durant, forward, 6-10, 47 GP, 29.1 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 5.0 APG, 56% FG/4o% 3FG/92% FTĭevin Booker, guard, 6-5, 53 GP, 27.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 5.5 APG, 49% FG/35% 3FG/86% FTīooker and Durant paired up to lead Team USA to gold at the Tokyo Olympics. The team is nearly impossible to judge but they are 12-1 since the trade in games that Durant has played. To make the deal with Brooklyn for KD, the Suns sent out many draft picks and three key players.īecause of the big trade the Suns are shallow but they’ve also got a fearsome foursome, with future Hall of Famer Chris Paul and former first overall pick Deandre Ayton joining Booker and Durant. Booker led the Suns to the NBA Finals in 2021, losing to the Bucks and Durant is one of the best scorers in league history. Devin Booker was limited to fewer than 60 games but he has now been paired with Kevin Durant, who the Suns traded for midseason. The Phoenix Suns went 45-37 this season as a run-of-the-mill team in the west, who survived a lot of roster turnovers and big injuries.
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