11/16/2023 0 Comments Suns nuggets pick![]() ![]() He has scored more than 14.5 points in four of seven postseason games this year, and before that he had cleared it in 10 of his last 12 regular season games. Again, not every transition bucket needs to end up with Porter, but if Denver dials up the pace to take advantage of Phoenix’s shortened bench, just one or two of those additional races landing in Porter’s hands should send him Over his points prop. benefits plenty from those transition points. Not all of those moments end in or are credited as an assist for Jokic, but if just one or two of them do, that should propel him Over his prop.Īs maybe the most athletic player on the Nuggets’ roster, Michael Porter Jr. When Denver takes off down the court, it is often Nikola Jokic making an outlet pass or grabbing a rebound and immediately starting down the court. The Nuggets relish it.Īnd, frankly, that percentage of possessions would likely be higher if the Minnesota Timberwolves had not been so outmatched in two of the five games in that first-round series. ![]() The Suns and the Heat have higher points per possession (1.44 for Phoenix), but they fire down the court less often. Let’s call this the Transition Trio same-game parlay.ĭenver has found itself in its transition offense on 17.3% of its postseason possessions, per nba.com, scoring 1.13 points per possession. My best bet: Nuggets moneyline ( +155 at BetMGM) A team that already thrives in transition should excel against a team that may play only seven players, and two of them will be Deandre Ayton and Biyombo - not exactly defenders who will get back down the court with expediency.ĭurant and Booker are two of the best scorers in the game, but they cannot play all five positions, and the Nuggets will make the Suns pay for that tonight. They simply need to outpace the Paul-less Suns by one point throughout an entire game. On 19 fourth-quarter possessions, Phoenix scored just 14 points, while Denver poured in 27 points on 18 possessions.įocusing on that disparity runs the risk of putting too much value into a small sample size, but the Nuggets do not need to dominate that aggressively again. Only three available players are consistently scoring for the Suns. Phoenix does not have enough quality depth to replace Paul’s playmaking and bucket-getting. ![]() Okogie’s role is certainly not offensive, but he is still scoring just 4.9 points in 20.1 minutes per playoff game. Of the core five, Torrey Craig and Josh Okogie are both playing more than 20 minutes per game while scoring fewer than 10 points per game. They should have a six or seven-man rotation tonight, with the sixth being Bismack Biyombo (10.1 minutes per game in seven games these playoffs) and the seventh either Damion Lee (12.2 in six games) or Landry Shamet (11.5 in six games). The Suns are not deep, especially without Paul. The six above him have all averaged double-digits through seven games in these playoffs. On an eight-man rotation, Green is Denver’s seventh offensive option. Fourteen-year veterans can play 18 minutes per game in the playoffs when they are able to focus like that. Every time the world is collectively shocked that Jeff Green is still contributing to a playoff rotation at the age of 36, we overlook the fact that he is usually called upon for fewer than 20 minutes per game and he knows his role: Rebound, defend, move the ball. But can Durant or Booker do all that while defending on-ball as Paul would? Now this gets a bit tricky. Will he play 40-plus minutes? Phoenix is going to need monumental efforts from both him and Devin Booker. Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and even Jae Crowder would have helped provide depth that Durant alone cannot replace in these circumstances. The flip side of that is that the Suns simply lack quality players now with Paul sidelined tonight. Part of the logic to trading for Kevin Durant was to provide further star power should a postseason injury once again slow Paul, and sure enough, that became reality Monday when a tweaked groin sent Paul to the locker room. Nuggets vs Suns Game 3 picks and predictions Here are our free NBA picks and predictions for Nuggets vs Suns on May 5. The Suns’ main problem, though, is that the immediate future could quickly become the next five months if they do not take care of business at home against the Denver Nuggets. The Phoenix Suns are backed into a corner, and are now without their floor general for the immediate future. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |