![]() The Suns are still trying to figure things out and develop chemistry, and fortunately had an easy first round matchup to skate by. If you really think Jokic will get another dime, you could find Jokic for 10+ assists at +110 across multiple books.Īustin Wang: I wrote about this matchup in Saturday’s Suns-Nuggets betting guide (you can read it here), but I think the Nuggets’ excellence at home will be too much for the Suns. Murray and Porter each shot above 42% from 3 in their last series, and Denver will be looking to facilitate similar looks against a Suns team in altitude who only played six guys above 12 minutes per game last series. have to get going - at least one of them on a regular basis to keep up with Phoenix’s obvious firepower with Durant and Booker - so expect Jokić to set the table early and continue doing so throughout the game. He may opt to see the floor and look to facilitate early, because in order to win this series, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. He has also gotten more than halfway there by halftime in three games against the Wolves, getting six first half assists last timeout and five after two quarters in Games 3 and 1. He hit this in three of the last four games during the first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, once nine exactly, and 12 on two occasions. In two games against the Suns this year, though, he got 21-18-9 and 41-15-15 - going over 8.5 assists both times. 1 seed at home in Game 1.īryan Fonseca: We haven’t seen Nikola Jokic against this version of the Phoenix Suns with Kevin Durant. Frankly, this line is disrespectful for the No. I’m trusting the better team at home with a spread under a bucket to just take care of business. Denver is somehow the deeper team, and the Nuggets have been elite at home. looks like a real X factor, and Jamal Murray finally looks healthy again and is playing at an All-Star level. Jokic is the best player on the court, and the Nuggets offense is the best in the world when everything is purring. In short, I think you beat the Suns not with defense but with superior offense. I wrote a full preview for this series, so I’ll let you read the details there. That makes this a pretty easy and straightforward pick. I like the Nuggets in the series, I like them better at home, and I think they’re the better team. I expect the Nuggets starters to expose an overrated Suns defense.īrandon Anderson: Let’s keep this easy. Most recently, the Nuggets bench unit was able to post 115 against the Suns starters back on April 6. I expect them to be a step slow and this is not an offense you can afford to be a step slow against.ĭenver has cleared this number rather easily in both of the regular season matchups against the Suns. The Suns will also be traveling into altitude after allocating 40-plus minutes a game to most of their core starters. I expect the Suns’ defense to struggle with rotations as this team still hasn’t played many games together and they must also get used to defending a historically unique player like Jokic. The Clippers rarely play through the post and have much less off-ball movement than the Nuggets. The Clippers looked to push the pace at every opportunity, as they made a concerted effort to avoid playing in the halfcourt on offense. Saturday’s NBA First Basket Prop: Bet Jokic, Porter Jr in Suns vs Nuggets Read now This is a massive step-up in difficulty and it also a massive change stylistically. I couldn’t think of a bigger efficiency jump for a defense than going from having to defend a Westbrook-centric offense to a Nikola Jokic-led offense. The fact that a Russell Westbrook led-offense posted that level of offensive efficiency should be a massive red-flag that this Suns defense is potentially awful. Keep in mind, this Clippers offense ranked 22nd despite playing the second-easiest schedule of opposing defenses this regular season. Overall, the Clippers finished the first round with an average offensive rating of 117.6, good for 5th amongst the NBA playoff teams. I have very little respect for this Suns defense as they allowed a Clippers offense without Kawhi Leonard to post offensive ratings north of 120.0 in three of their four games last series. I highlight the Timberwolves defense in order to contrast it with the defense of this Phoenix Suns team. The Timberwolves, specifically Rudy Gobert and Anthony Edwards, put up a valiant defensive effort despite the outcome of that series. NBA Odds & Best Bets Click on a best bet to skip aheadĬhris Baker: The Nuggets shot the ball poorly across their last two games, but we must give Minnesota’s defense major props.
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