They went 34-7 at Ball Arena in the regular season and are 5-0 in the playoffs, all but one win by at least nine points.ĭenver had a +9.6 Net Rating at home this season versus -3.0 on the road. The Nuggets are a different animal at home.
#SUNS VS NUGGETS PICKS SERIES#
This is a spot I’ve had circled since the series schedule came out. Just staying near even in those non-Jokic minutes would be huge. The Nuggets had actually been pretty good in the non-Jokic minutes up until getting blasted the last couple games. A better Nuggets result probably means less Murray shots and more from Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr., both of whom were quiet in Phoenix.ĭenver will also need a better bench effort. He’s scored 30 PPG the last two games, but needed 27 shots per game to get there. Jamal Murray has decided this is a 2-on-2 battle: him and Jokic vs. The problem is he hasn’t been getting much help. Jokic, over the past three games, is a staggering 17.5 - he is breaking basketball.
Devin Booker is at 12.8 BPM this postseason. Michael Jordan’s career Box Plus-Minus is 11.1, ahead of LeBron James’s 10.1.
He’s basically making up stat lines at this point, dominating the game like no one else in league history. He had a 30/17/17 triple-double in Game 3. Jokic had 53 points and 11 assists in Game 4. He’s also the series leader in rebounds and assists, of course. We’ll see if Denver can punish those weak links defensively, or if this series continues to tilt toward offense and overs.Īs awesome as Booker has been, Jokic somehow leads the series in scoring. Warren and Terrence Ross got major run while Josh Okogie and Torrey Craig shrunk in the rotation. Landry Shamet hit five 3-pointers in Game 4, all but one in the final stanza, and T.J. The Suns continue to shuffle their bench and appear to have settled on going all-in on shooters.
That’s pretty much all you need to know about how that’s going, but at least Landale is playing hard. Instead, it’s apparently Jock Landale’s job to slow Jokic down. He’s cruising under his 20.5 points + rebounds line lately, and under 7.5 points (+265, Bet365) is tempting. His minutes are down to around 26 per game, and he looks passive and lost … even more than usual. After averaging 15.4 points and 10.1 rebounds over the first seven games of the playoffs, he had just 12 points and 17 rebounds in the last two combined. Durant also had 14 dimes over the two Paul-less games as well.Īyton’s role continues to dwindle. His points + assists over continues to be money. He’s also diming teammates up at 8.8 APG for the series, including 20 potential assists in Game 4. His absence has quickened the pace and given Phoenix easy scoring opportunities it’s also put the ball in the hands of the two brightest Suns more often.īooker is averaging 36.8 PPG on - not a typo - 62/51/87 shooting. Paul’s injury may be a blessing in disguise. Paul is injured and Deandre Ayton has been small, both in minutes and on-court play. The Suns entered the series as a four-man team lacking depth, and they’re down to two men now. It’s a huge spot - and one I’ve been eyeing for Denver since the series schedule came out. The loser moves one game from elimination. The winner moves one game away from the NBA Western Conference Finals.
Chris Paul will not suit up for Game 5, but thankfully Jokic will play after avoiding suspension for his altercation with Suns governor Mat Ishbia. The home side remains undefeated, and we’re now down to a best of three. It was a spectacular, dazzling constellation of basketball that ended with a 129-124 Suns win that knotted up the series at 2-2. Those two stars added 23 assists too, so supernova that Kevin Durant’s 36/11/6 was a red dwarf by comparison. Game 4 in Phoenix was basketball nirvana.ĭevin Booker scored 36 points and shot 14-of-18 mostly on jumpers. If you haven’t been following this NBA playoff series between the Suns and Nuggets, you’re missing out.
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