Denver Nuggets vs. Phoenix Suns
Monday, June 7, 2021 – 10:00 PM EDT Phoenix Suns Arena
The Nuggets and Suns have made it to the next round. Some are shocked and some are now. The Nuggets, without Jamal Murray, took down the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs while the Suns, who had a much better regular season than the Lakers, took advantage of some injuries and played extremely well to defeat the Lakers. It took six games for the Nuggets to defeat the Blazers. Here’s where you should be looking at the top-rated sportsbooks.
Nikola Jokic was the leading scorer for the Nuggets in all six games, scoring at least 30 or more points in all but one game against the Blazers. The Denver offense has been really good this year, despite Murray’s absence.
They finished the season with 118 points per 100 possessions and had an effective field goal percentage of 56.3 percent. But while they were getting quality shots, the Nuggets were able to dominate the offensive glass, giving them more chances at scoring with quality looks.
The Nuggets aren’t very aggressive and won’t find the foul line often but they’re more than capable of scoring and gaining second chance opportunities. Defensively, the Nuggets were above average, holding teams to an effective field goal percentage of 112.5 points per 100 possessions.
They’ve been solid at forcing turnovers and limiting second chances on the other end. That’s an area where the Nuggets should be able to capitalize against the Suns. The Suns aren’t the best offensive rebounding team and if the Nuggets can keep them off the glass, they’ll find success.
The Nuggets are also forcing turnovers 14.6 percent of the time but might struggle against the Suns who rarely turn the ball over with Chris Paul handling the ball. Jokic averaged 33 points and 10.5 rebounds in that first round matchup against the Blazers.
He’s playing at a high level right now and let’s not forget that the Nuggets won the regular-season series over the suns, two games to one. It’s going to be a classic series.
Prediction
All three of those finishes were spectacular. One game ended by a three-point deficit. Another ended in overtime and of course, one game went to double over-time. With the emergence of Michael Porter Jr. and Monte Morris, the Nuggets have other guys stepping up alongside Jokic.
The Suns, on the other hand, have been getting solid looks on offense. In the regular season, they scored 117.7 points per 100 possessions and had an effective field goal percentage ofo 56.8 percent while rarely turning the ball over.
Offensive rebounding, as stated above will be an issue but one thing’s for sure, neither team gets to the line very often. The Suns knocked off the Lakers behind Devin Booker who is seriously becoming a star in the league. He scored 47 points to close out Game 6 against the Lakers.
Those were his first playoff games of his career. You wouldn’t know with the way he played. Chris Paul has a sore right shoulder but hasn’t missed any practice and will play this game.
DeAndre Ayton, who was the number one overall pick in 2018, has been a double-double machine after averaging 22 points and 12.3 rebounds in three games against the Nuggets this season. Prediction All eyes are on the Suns right now.
The Suns are the team that just defeated the Lakers and will play at home against the Nuggets, who most thought would be out of the playoffs when matched up with the Blazers. Each game has been a nail-biter between these two teams so if we’re getting multiple possessions with the underdog, we’ll take it.
NBA Pick: Nuggets +4.5 (-116) at Bookmaker (visit our Bookmaker Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
