![]() The Cleveland Cavaliers entered the postseason for the first time since 2018, and the first time without LeBron James on their roster since 1998.The New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers, and Los Angeles Lakers entered the postseason for the first time since 2021.The Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves entered the postseason for the second consecutive season.The Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, and Atlanta Hawks entered the postseason for the third consecutive season.The Heat also entered the NBA Finals for the first time since 2020 and the seventh time in franchise history.The Miami Heat entered the postseason for the fourth consecutive season.The Brooklyn Nets entered the postseason for the fifth consecutive season.The Philadelphia 76ers entered the postseason for the sixth consecutive season.The Boston Celtics entered the postseason for the ninth consecutive season, currently the longest such streak in the NBA.The Nuggets also entered the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.The Denver Nuggets entered the postseason for the fifth consecutive season and also clinched the best record in the Western Conference for the first time in franchise history.The Milwaukee Bucks entered the postseason for the seventh consecutive season and also clinched the best record in the NBA for the third time in the last five seasons.You can help by converting this section, if appropriate. This is an almost even series that could swing either way.This section is in list format but may read better as prose. However, after watching their first-round series against the Clippers, I think the depth and holes in the roster are things the Nuggets can exploit enough to win. I never feel comfortable picking against Durant and Booker, and before the playoffs tipped off I picked the Suns to come out of the West. ![]() Just know the Suns will be relentless from the midrange. If Jokić and a driving Murray can have the Nuggets working inside-out and kicking to open shooters at the arc - and those shooters hit their shots - the math may favor the Nuggets this series. Porter, Murray, KCP are going to get their chances. They may need to this series - and hit a fair number of them to win. ![]() The Nuggets are not 3-point gunners, they were 25th in the league in 3-point attempts per game this season, but they took almost 37% of their shot attempts from beyond the arc in dismissing the Timberwolves. Against the Clippers, the Suns took just 27.3% of their shot attempts from 3 (the lowest rate in the postseason, a stat via John Schuhmann of NBA.com). The Phoenix Suns are midrange killers - Durant, Booker and CP3 are all deadly at the shot most defenses want to give up. 3) Can Suns win this series from the midrange against Nuggets’ 3-point shooters? However, if those first options don’t work out, there are not a lot of second and third choices for Michael Malone to fall back on. Expect Aaron Gordon to get a lot of time on Durant, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was brought in to guard guys like Booker. While the Nuggets are deeper, they have limited options defensively at key spots. Is that enough to wear the Suns down a little and win them a game? There is a long break - Monday to Friday - between games two and three, which will help the Suns’ legs. They know their coverages - how they want to handle pick-and-rolls - and are used to different lineups and combinations being on the court together. missed a season (or most of it) with injuries, but this Denver team knows who it is, what it wants to do, and has the depth and continuity to be flexible. The core of this Nuggets team has been together for seven years in the same system. Durant has still played a total of just 13 games in Phoenix and everything is still a bit of an experiment. Phoenix looked a bit better each game against the Clippers (it helps when the other team’s two best players are in street clothes), but there was still a lot of Monty Williams throwing lineups and strategies against the wall to see what stuck. 2) Can the Nuggets’ depth, continuity expose the Suns’ lack of it? If Denver wins this series’s non-Jokić minutes, the Suns are in deep trouble. One other note, the Nuggets were +27 last series with Jokić off the court. Jokić had a sprained wrist, and while he says it is not bothering him he wore tape on his wrist for the first time all season during the last series. He’s in a good place.- Mike Singer April 28, 2023 Nikola Jokic, asked how to defend Phoenix’s pick-and-roll: “Pray.”Ĭoncluded a jovial media session where Joker chided the group for our “awful” questions.
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