The Suns were dispatched by the Nuggets pretty easily in last year’s playoffs, but Phoenix’s offseason additions could make a difference if the teams meet again, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. Jusuf Nurkic isn’t as talented or athletic as Deandre Ayton, but he provides a more physical presence to match up with Nikola Jokic in a seven-game series. Nurkic had seven points, 12 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two steals as the Suns pulled out an overtime win in Denver Tuesday night.
“We’re most definitely different,” Kevin Durant said. “Adding (Bradley) Beal and Grayson (Allen) and Nurk makes us a different team than last year. But having more experience as a unit helps a lot as well. Last year, we were thrown together pretty quickly, and we were playing against a well-oiled machine. We have nothing but respect for Denver. They challenge us in ways that other teams don’t, so it was good to fight through everything tonight.”
Although Phoenix can’t expect Nurkic to shut down his former teammate, Jones points out that he presents problems for Jokic that few other Western centers do. Nurkic is strong enough to match up with Jokic in the low post without the need for a double team, which limits open opportunities for Denver’s shooters.
There’s more on the Suns:
- Coach Frank Vogel describes Devin Booker as “day-to-day” with the sprained right ankle he suffered late in Saturday’s game, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Booker is already ruled out for Thursday’s contest with Toronto, but with a projected timeline of five-to-14 days, Rankin notes that he could be back as early as Monday. “We’ll see how he is over the weekend and into next week,” Vogel said.
- Nassir Little received a platelet-rich plasma injection for inflammation in his left knee and Vogel expects him to be sidelined “for a week or so,” Rankin tweets. Josh Okogie has been diagnosed with a lower abdominal strain, Rankin adds.
- The past week showed why the Suns are so dangerous but so hard to predict heading into the playoffs, observes Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports. The surprising win at Denver followed back-to-back home losses to Houston and Oklahoma City. While injuries have limited the time that the starting five have played together, Bourguet points out that they have the fourth-best ranking of any five-man lineup in the league that has logged at least 250 minutes. He adds that during their only real healthy stretch of the season — from late December through the All-Star break — the Suns posted a 19-7 record.
Phoenix just needs to be quiet right now. They can’t keep none of the Big 3 healthy. When healthy, they cannot guard anybody. The supporting cast has been bad. If they think that Nurkic is their new secret weapon against Jokic ….. Phoenix v Denver is a 4-0 sweep for the Nuggets.
Nobody knows how to defend Jokić better than Nurkić. They have the firepower and neither team is all that deep, if they do meet it should be a good series.
Denver beats these guys 4-0 even with the Big 3 healthy. They haven’t been impressive. They don’t have enough offense to counter their horrific defense. KD is still a great player, but can no longer carry a team the way he used to. 3 great offensive talents, but not gonna win trading buckets with Jokic. Beal is gonna hurt himself trying to guard Jamal Murray. Meanwhile, Aaron Gordon and KCP get to do nothing but defend without regard to doing anything offensively but making wide open shots, dunks and put-backs.
Denver is a veteran team that has turned it up a notch for the last 25 games, and still has another notch to go. Phoenix still hasn’t even really played together as a team. May not survive the Play-In round.
Suns are super team title contenders
But
Suns may not be able to make playoffs
Why?
In 2022, Lakers were super team according to New York post
Lakers were not able to make playoffs