Playoffs: Suns @ Nuggets Saturday game thread 4-29-2023- Game 1

[Hoop Head]

Would someone please review how well or how poorly Ayton fared against Jokic in 2021?

@BirdGangThing touched on it in his post how Jokic publicly praised Ayton's play and that seemed to go to Ayton's head in a good way, as in he shows up and competes hard on both ends against Jokic. Hopefully that Ayton shows up, I'm not counting on it but even if he plays at 75% of what he did from the 2021 series then it'll be the best he's looked all year.

Jokic seems to be an exception to Ayton as far as big, quick, physical, European Center having field days against him, like Zubac did in the Clippers series. Ayton actually backs up his talk against Jokic and plays physical back, or he has in the past. They seem to be buddies, in a weird way, that brings out the best in Ayton. If we could bottle whatever Jokic does to get that Ayton, we'd all be happy with Ayton.

 

[DJ Tabooh]

My solution would be to avoid that problem, by not playing Paulmuch. I would want to give Payne more minutes, as many as he can take; also use "Point Book" more often. So the Nougats are the sort of team to give Paul fits? Fine, then don't let them.

If Payne is productive, sure. But we know he’s mighty inconsistent to say the least. We will use Point Book in spots but our offense needs to create opportunities for KD to get going.

 

[BirdGangThing]

@BirdGangThing touched on it in his post how Jokic publicly praised Ayton's play and that seemed to go to Ayton's head in a good way, as in he shows up and competes hard on both ends against Jokic. Hopefully that Ayton shows up, I'm not counting on it but even if he plays at 75% of what he did from the 2021 series then it'll be the best he's looked all year.

Jokic seems to be an exception to Ayton as far as big, quick, physical, European Center having field days against him, like Zubac did in the Clippers series. Ayton actually backs up his talk against Jokic and plays physical back, or he has in the past. They seem to be buddies, in a weird way, that brings out the best in Ayton. If we could bottle whatever Jokic does to get that Ayton, we'd all be happy with Ayton.

Ayton's at his best when he's having fun

 

[Chaplin]

Regular season record against the Nuggets is next to worthless. Book played 2 minutes on Christmas and Joker was out the 2 final games this season.

 

[Covert Rain]

I predict an up and down series because that's who the Suns are with the best playoff duo in the NBA but a short bench. We are going to see some good and some really bad throughout this series.

 

[BirdGangThing]

If Payne is productive, sure. But we know he’s mighty inconsistent to say the least. We will use Point Book in spots but our offense needs to create opportunities for KD to get going.

I think Payne thru no fault of his own is still literally butt hurt. I think he played a few minutes yesterday only to be knocked on his (still tender) ass by Westbrook, left the game soon after and didn't return. Rest will do him good which is good because we will need him

 

[AzStevenCal]

@BirdGangThing touched on it in his post how Jokic publicly praised Ayton's play and that seemed to go to Ayton's head in a good way, as in he shows up and competes hard on both ends against Jokic. Hopefully that Ayton shows up, I'm not counting on it but even if he plays at 75% of what he did from the 2021 series then it'll be the best he's looked all year.

Jokic seems to be an exception to Ayton as far as big, quick, physical, European Center having field days against him, like Zubac did in the Clippers series. Ayton actually backs up his talk against Jokic and plays physical back, or he has in the past. They seem to be buddies, in a weird way, that brings out the best in Ayton. If we could bottle whatever Jokic does to get that Ayton, we'd all be happy with Ayton.

I used to worry about the Ayton matchup with Zubac, now I'd worry more about the matchup with Mason Plumlee.

 

[TJ]

My first inclination is Nuggets in 7. Playing heavy minutes in Denver isnt good for stamina. But, I could see an early victory in Game 1 and/or 2 really messing with their head. Ayton loves playing against Jokic, but Murray also loves playing against Phoenix

 

[95pro]

I predict an up and down series because that's who the Suns are with the best playoff duo in the NBA but a short bench. We are going to see some good and some really bad throughout this series.

Great analysis.

Seriously, I see our transition defense being an issue, as it's been throughout this year.
Also we have to show we want those 50/50 balls.

MPJ and Gordon are taller and quicker than our forwards, limiting these two will be the key to winning. Jokic and Murray will get theirs.

This nuggets teams is vastly different than the finals run from two years ago. Their starters are upgraded but their bench talent ceiling is lower.
Overall their starters are younger so the 40+ minutes a game shouldn't affect them.

Hopefully we can acclimatize well, I wonder if training staff implements those masks to simulate altitude. In reality we should be in Denver by tomorrow to avoid the negative affects of the altitude.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

*Emergency Alert System Activated*

We post less when we watch together because we can vent directly to someone instead of on the board.

 

[Mainstreet]

I used to worry about the Ayton matchup with Zubac, now I'd worry more about the matchup with Mason Plumlee.

I think the physicality of Zubac and Plumlee were good preparation for Jokic, although he has a much better all around game.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Nikola Jokic says Deandre Ayton is center he's had most problems with this year

Michael Pina: Nikola Jokic just said Deandre Ayton is the center he’s had the most problems with this year

hoopshype.com

 

[Proximo]

Would someone please review how well or how poorly Ayton fared against Jokic in 2021?

Not sure why that is relevant.

The previous playoff series is the far better thing to look at.

I think we know what Ayton is capable of pretty well at this point, it's just a mystery if we will do it or not.

 

[Proximo]

This series is gonna be up and down. Tbh idk who’s going to win. Denver is a more cohesive team, Suns have a better duo in KD/Book.

This is a weird matchup because idk who they start on Murray…Okogie makes the most sense but do we really go away from Torrey? Where are they gonna stash CP3? Maybe KCP but I would think they’d want Book on him so we can save his energy.

This series will come down to if we contain Murray and MPJ. Jokic will get his. Can’t let Murray get 30+ or MPJ 20+. If you put a gun to my head, I’d probably lean Denver but you can never count Book out.

They should start Okogie, and I think they will

I think the series is going to mainly come down to #1 Is KD going to be more effective than the last series - he needs to be and #2 Who performs better CP3 or Porter.

 

[Proximo]

My solution would be to avoid that problem, by not playing Paulmuch. I would want to give Payne more minutes, as many as he can take; also use "Point Book" more often. So the Nougats are the sort of team to give Paul fits? Fine, then don't let them.

I don't think the Nuggets give Paul fits, if anything I think he gives the Nuggets fits.

One of their weaknesses is guarding the pick and roll.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Nikola Jokic says Deandre Ayton is center he's had most problems with this year

Michael Pina: Nikola Jokic just said Deandre Ayton is the center he’s had the most problems with this year

hoopshype.com

For those just reading the headline, that comment is from a couple of years ago. Ayton usually does play well against Jokic but it's not like he shuts the guy down or anything. As I recall, Jokic still has the superior stats when they matchup.

 

[Phrazbit]

Gordon, to me, is the x-factor.

Ayton does pretty well against Jokic but Jokic is still going to probably put up silly stats, just hope we make him work for it, I expect Murray to be Murray, probably great in a couple games and dog crap in a couple games, he is super inconsistent.

But Gordon... if he has free reign to pound the offensive glass, it's going to be a problem for us. He feasts on put backs and with Ayton being occupied by Jokic, we will need a real team effort on the glass.

 

[Mainstreet]

Game 1 is going to be TOUGH

It might be the easiest game to steal though.

 

[JCSunsfan]

For those just reading the headline, that comment is from a couple of years ago. Ayton usually does play well against Jokic but it's not like he shuts the guy down or anything. As I recall, Jokic still has the superior stats when they matchup.

DA doesn't have to have superior stats, just play with him. That gives us room to excel elsewhere.

 

[GatorAZ]

Denver wears us down in 7. As long as you’re playing 7-8 guys then 7-8 guys matter. If it was 2 on 2 I’d pick us.

 

[sdscard4]

If I'm not mistaken we owned Gordon in 2021 right?

 

[Cheesebeef]

If I'm not mistaken we owned Gordon in 2021 right?

That was when he really had to be their 2nd best player. With Murray and Porter playing he’s the 4th.

I have no idea what happens in this series.

 

[Hoop Head]

Denver wears us down in 7. As long as you’re playing 7-8 guys then 7-8 guys matter. If it was 2 on 2 I’d pick us.

I dont believe we'll make it to game 7 if Monty doesn't extend the bench a little more. Our starters won't be able to handle 4 games in Denver playing 40+ minutes each. Denver is one of the hardest places to play road games because of the altitude. They have a real home court advantage.

We're going to need to go 9-10 deep and get production from the bench to make this a series. I'd say no less than 20 points a game off the bench to be competitive, probably 30+ to win.

 

[Hoop Head]

If I'm not mistaken we owned Gordon in 2021 right?

This is a completely different matchup. In 2021 he had been in Denver for like 2-3 months as he was acquired at the trade deadline. He was also their #2 option and is now their #4 since Murray and MPJ were injured during our series. In addition to that, the only forward we have from that series is Torrey Craig, so it's really an entirely different matchup. Jokic vs Ayton and Monty vs Malone are the only similarities between these 2 series. Everything else has changed.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Denver wears us down in 7. As long as you’re playing 7-8 guys then 7-8 guys matter. If it was 2 on 2 I’d pick us.

I just don't understand the focus on depth in this matchup. Denver has shown about as much depth as us in these playoffs and that is with us having one of our top bench players out in Payne. They may beat us in the depth department, but it won't be anything like the Clippers depth for instance.