Suns @ Nuggets Sunday Playoff game thread 6-13-2021 - Game 4

[JCSunsfan]

Well. Having an ideal amount of time off would be nice, but not at the expense of playing more games. This series needs to be over as soon as possible. More games only means more opportunity for injury. Avoiding rustiness is not worth that risk.

Also, more games for the Clips or JAZZ is more wear and tear on them. Kahwi needs load management, Donovan has a gimpy ankle.

 

[Mainstreet]

There is some contradictory information about resting players.


From Inside Science Monday, October 16, 2017 Marcus Woo, Contributor:


Last March, the seemingly invincible Golden State Warriors looked mortal. One of their superstars, Kevin Durant, was out with a knee injury, and the team had lost four of six games.

Citing the need for rest, head coach Steve Kerr sat his healthy star players for a much-anticipated matchup with the San Antonio Spurs. The Warriors lost that game, but their refreshed squad won the next 14. On their way to a championship, they won 16 of 17 playoff games. The rest, it would seem, helped.

---------------------------------------------


Player Efficiency Rating, a number that encapsulates a player's overall performance, between 2005 and 2015. Box scores indicate whether a player missed games due to injury or rest. Considering only players who played at least 20 minutes a game, didn't change teams midseason, didn't miss more than 10 games for rest or suspension, and hadn't missed more than 20 games for any other reason, the researchers split the cohort into two groups. One group included players who rested fewer than five games and the other consisted of players who rested five to nine games.

The researchers compared players from the rested group to players from the less-rested group of similar ages, positions, minutes played, Player Efficiency Rating and team success. This way, they're not comparing a superstar like LeBron James with a mediocre player.

They found that the numbers for rested players were statistically the same as those for less-rested players. And players from both groups hardly missed any playoff games due to injury. Resting, at least for the playoffs, didn't seem to matter.


https://www.insidescience.org/news/...yers-during-season-may-not-help-them-playoffs

 

[Covert Rain]

I’m still worried a bit about Paul’s shoulder, and since rest has proven to be the best solution for it, I want the most rest possible.

No data needed for this. Paul would likely never have gotten to this point without rest between games. We need him. He has been critical especially during other team runs and in the 4th.

No way he is 100% and likely still one hack job away from re-injury. We need every single day we can get until he is 100% (assuming that’s possible).

 

[95pro]

What no one is mentioning is cp3’s injury history and age. More prone to injuries. Older. Rest is good for him.

 

[mjb21aztd]

Hoping for sweep but if series win happens in Phoenix cool

Hoping paul continues ninja slicing denvers def lol and ayton continues playing like a tru num 1 pick!! Great job against jokic minus the numbers

Should be a fun gm

Stay healthy suns mainly paul book!!! Deadly 2021 backcourt

Rise up we are the valley!!!

 

[Ronin]

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[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Was driving to pick up Starbucks this am. Had a suns hat on. Random dude in crosswalk yells “Go Suns! SWEEEEEEEP!”



then I get home and spill a chocolate milk all over the interior of the truck.

today is 50-50

 

[Mainstreet]

I’m still worried a bit about Paul’s shoulder, and since rest has proven to be the best solution for it, I want the most rest possible.

Winning the series outright (with no revisiting memories of past playoff series in which the Suns lost after leading 3-1) and resting Chris Paul's shoulder are the biggest reasons to take care of business tonight.

Let's do it!

 

[Cheesebeef]

Was driving to pick up Starbucks this am. Had a suns hat on. Random dude in crosswalk yells “Go Suns! SWEEEEEEEP!”



then I get home and spill a chocolate milk all over the interior of the truck.

today is 50-50

ha! Shoulda yelled back SUNS IN 4! SUNS IN 4!

 

[SunsTzu]

Well. Having an ideal amount of time off would be nice, but not at the expense of playing more games. This series needs to be over as soon as possible. More games only means more opportunity for injury. Avoiding rustiness is not worth that risk.

Also, more games for the Clips or JAZZ is more wear and tear on them. Kahwi needs load management, Donovan has a gimpy ankle.

Yeah, rust may cost you a game if you can't overcome a slow start. An injury can cost you the series, hope they get as much rest as the can because the next 2 rounds won't be a cakewalk.

 

[Superbone]

I guess I'd take the extra rest especially with Paul's shoulder.

This.

 

[mjb21aztd]

Was driving to pick up Starbucks this am. Had a suns hat on. Random dude in crosswalk yells “Go Suns! SWEEEEEEEP!”



then I get home and spill a chocolate milk all over the interior of the truck.

today is 50-50

Lmfao same but wearing a suns shirt but at a dispensary lol by few of the worker's lol

Such fun time to be a suns fan

 

[Superbone]

Was driving to pick up Starbucks this am. Had a suns hat on. Random dude in crosswalk yells “Go Suns! SWEEEEEEEP!”



then I get home and spill a chocolate milk all over the interior of the truck.

today is 50-50

Ha! That reminds me that I was making popcorn at halftime of the first Nuggets games which has been a tradition I started this year during Suns games. I got tired of microwave popcorn and was missing that movie theater style so I got an oil popper and learned how to make it. After measuring the right amount of kernels, the small measuring cup squirted out of my hands and kernels went flying EVERYWHERE! All I could do was laugh at myself. I envisioned that this represented the Nuggets falling apart in the second half. And they did!

Took me about 20 minutes to clean it all up and I was still finding stray kernels for the next week.

 

[GatorAZ]

Mitchell and Conley have been banged up so you want that series going the distance and hope the WCF’s start two days after their last game.

Reminds me of 05’. The Spurs series started two days after we finished off Dallas in a series in which Joe got hurt and Nash played 50 minutes in game 6. The Suns just didn’t have it and were behind the 8-ball from the gate. As a Suns fan I will take any break we get and not apologize for it.

 

[Mainstreet]

Actually it's much more than our "generic musings", anyone that's watched basketball for any period of time has heard analysts, announcers and coaches talk about it.

But I sort of agree with your point, it's been mostly anecdotal although when it comes from coaches and former coaches it gains some credibility IMO. I think they usually say anything more than 3 days rest starts impacting the players game conditioning and mental readiness.

But they don't really talk too much about how long it takes to get that conditioning and edge back. Is it 3 games, is it a quarter or a half? Don't know but my guess it's probably no more than the first half if you're only talking about 5 or 6 days without an actual game - longer if you're out for health reasons and can't do a full workout.

And if it's a half or less, even if it might cost you the game, isn't it possible that the extra rest will benefit you more throughout the series than what that one potential loss will cost you? Again, don't know.

I guess I'd take the extra rest especially with Paul's shoulder.

Definitely: " I guess I'd take the extra rest especially with Paul's shoulder."

 

[Mainstreet]

Some Denver discussion about how to stop the Suns pick and roll.

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[Mainstreet]

And do you fire a coach who who has played without a full cast of players?

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[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Lmfao same but wearing a suns shirt but at a dispensary lol by few of the worker's lol

Such fun time to be a suns fan

But I’m in SoCal!

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Some Denver discussion about how to stop the Suns pick and roll.

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And it’s not the same pick and roll over and over. It comes from different angles with different passing lanes created. I give monty so much more credit after having read that article. It’s a crazy difficult offense to counter. Laker could, to an extent, because they had excellent individual defenders and a couple crazy athletes with Lebron and Davis.

 

[Mainstreet]

And it’s not the same pick and roll over and over. It comes from different angles with different passing lanes created. I give monty so much more credit after having read that article. It’s a crazy difficult offense to counter. Laker could, to an extent, because they had excellent individual defenders and a couple crazy athletes with Lebron and Davis.

I found it interesting some Nugget fans want to put even more on the shoulders of Jokic like he is not doing enough already.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I found it interesting some Nugget fans want to put even more on the shoulders of Jokic like he is not doing enough already.

To be fair, the commentators have been making the same observation that jokic doesn’t show high enough. It’s a ton to expect of him, but he’s been a weak spot in their defense for sure.

 

[Cheesewater]

I found it interesting some Nugget fans want to put even more on the shoulders of Jokic like he is not doing enough already.

Indeed. Halfway through the 2nd quarter of game 3, Jokic already looked like he was going to keel over in exhaustion. That guy is great but he can't drag that team into the WCF alone.

 

[JCSunsfan]

It will be interesting to see if the Nuggets show today. I would guess that they really don’t want to come back to 117 degree Phoenix to get beat.

 

[Mainstreet]

To be fair, the commentators have been making the same observation that jokic doesn’t show high enough. It’s a ton to expect of him, but he’s been a weak spot in their defense for sure.

Indeed. Halfway through the 2nd quarter of game 3, Jokic already looked like he was going to keel over in exhaustion. That guy is great but he can't drag that team into the WCF alone.

I'm not sure about the design of the Denver defense but he has been asked to help trap almost to mid-court and yet defend the basket. He is not overly athletic so I don't know how he can do it all.

Personally I think The Nuggets have asked him to do too much. He is usually exhausted in the second half. Maybe some of this is on the coach.

 

[Mainstreet]

It will be interesting to see if the Nuggets show today. I would guess that they really don’t want to come back to 117 degree Phoenix to get beat.

We will be lucky to get the Suns back.