Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets needed six games in the first round to eliminate their opponents in the first round.
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The Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets got through some serious challenges in the first round. The Suns blew away the defending Champions, Los Angeles Lakers, in 6 games and the Nuggets successfully got past the Damian Lillards’ storm and will now meet with a trip to the Western Conference finals on the line.
It all starts Monday.#MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/gWfPkGPl1X
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) June 5, 2021
The Nuggets lost in round two to the Lakers last season, and are chasing some history of their own. If they beat the Suns, they’ll make back-to-back conference finals for the first time since 1975 and 1976. They’re pretty shorthanded due to injuries, so reaching back-to-back might prove difficult.
The regular season series was one to remember! #MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/EolBjWVeDx
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) June 5, 2021
The NBA playoff season means, it is time that injuries play a big role. Paul initially hurt his shoulder in Game One and then re-aggravated it in Game 5. Though he played in every game of the series, he clearly wasn’t himself for most of it. He averaged just 9.2 points and 7.7 assists on 38.6 percent shooting.
The Nuggets, meanwhile, have struggled all season with injuries. Most notably, Jamal Murray tore his ACL in April and won’t play until next season. Missing their playoff star from the bubble last summer would be bad enough, but the Nuggets are also without Will Barton due to a hamstring strain, and PJ Dozier because of an adductor problem. Both of them are out indefinitely. Denver was able to figure things out against the Trail Blazers in the first round, but only after Damian Lillard went absolutely nuts.
The main reason the Nuggets are still here is that they have this season’s best player, Nikola Jokic. He was dominant in the first round against Portland, putting up 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game, while shooting 56.6 percent from the field.
36 PTS | 8 REB | 6 AST
The MVP stepped up to close out the series.#MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/iHunhUIFh6
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) June 4, 2021
At the same time, Ayton is a young player going through his first playoff run, and this will be the biggest test of his career so far. He’s the only true big the Suns have, and if Jokic is able to outplay him or get him into foul, it could end up being a long series for the Suns.
Against the Lakers, Booker was fantastic, putting up 29.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and five assists per game, while shooting 42.9 percent from three-point land. Not too bad for the first playoff series of his career.
Book things#RallyTheValley pic.twitter.com/AZMRLqOxJS
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) June 2, 2021
It’s hard to see his momentum slowing down against the Nuggets team. We just saw Damian Lillard torch the Nuggets in the first round, and Booker should be able to have similar success. Assuming he gets off to a great start in this series, it will be interesting to see how the Nuggets tackle him.
