Jokic Dominates as Nuggets Take 2-0 Series Lead Over Suns
The number one seed that few commentators seem to respect and that every team supposedly wanted to face is now up 2-0 versus a Phoenix Suns team that many observers crowned as a future champion. Nikola Jokic, the reigning two-time regular season MVP, was by far the best player on the court, scoring a game-high 39 points on 17-30 field goal shooting, pulling down a game-high 16 rebounds, and passing for five assists as his Denver Nuggets beat the Suns, 97-87. Jokic may not look or move like some people expect a basketball player to look or move, but he is intelligent, skillful, and STRONG; that combination of traits means that he knows where to go, he knows how to get there, and no one is able to stop him from getting there. Some people used to think that European players are soft. Many of these European players grew up in war zones; they are not soft, and they do not back down from fake tough guys who try to send messages with cheap shots (hello, Markieff Morris).
The Nuggets won despite Jamal Murray having an off game (10 points on 3-15 field goal shooting), Michael Porter Jr. disappearing (five points on 2-7 field goal shooting), and their bench players combining to score just 13 points (it helped the Nuggets that the Suns' bench players scored only four points).
Devin Booker, who ranks just behind Jimmy Butler in the 2023 NBA playoffs scoring race, scored 35 points on 14-29 field goal shooting while also passing for six assists and grabbing five rebounds. Kevin Durant had an uncharacteristically inefficient game, scoring 24 points on 10-27 field goal shooting. Deandre Ayton--whose self-proclaimed "Dominayton" nickname does not seem likely to age well--had 14 points and eight rebounds. Chris Paul had a quiet game (eight points, six assists, five rebounds in 25 minutes) before suffering a groin injury in the third quarter that forced him to miss the rest of the game; his status for game three (and the rest of the series) has not been publicly revealed. I have sympathy for Paul and I hope that he makes a quick, full recovery, but let's be honest--a Chris Paul playoff injury is predictable under any circumstances, and even more so now that the Suns' bench is thin: in my series preview, I wrote that "it is just a matter of time before one or more of the Suns' starters either wears down or gets injured. Booker, Durant, and Paul have all been injury-prone in recent seasons even without carrying the workload that they are currently shouldering."
Game two was very different stylistically from game one, when the Nuggets beat the Suns in a 125-107 shootout. Murray shined in that game (34 points, nine assists, 13-24 field goal shooting), and Jokic added 24 points, 19 rebounds, and five assists. Aaron Gordon contributed 23 points and six rebounds. Durant led the Suns in scoring (29 points) and rebounding (14 rebounds), but he had seven turnovers. Booker scored 27 points.
Thus, we have seen the Nuggets beat the Suns in a shootout, and we have seen the Nuggets grind down the Suns in a sloppy, low scoring game. The Suns will most likely be more efficient and productive at home, but if Paul is unable to play then their thin bench will be stretched to the breaking point. Booker can shift to point guard but is he going to play 48 minutes? If not, who is going to take up those minutes?
Building a championship team is not easy, nor should it be. It is understandable why the Suns traded away much of their depth to acquire two-time NBA Finals MVP Durant, but you cannot just throw a few talented players together with little practice time and a barren bench and then expect them to win a seven game series against an experienced team that has been together for a while and earned the top seed in the Western Conference. The LeBron James-Dwyane Wade-Chris Bosh Miami Heat did not win a championship in their first season together despite having a full training camp and a full regular season together--and those three players were each in their primes. Paul is past his prime, and Durant is no youngster, even though he still plays at an All-NBA Team level.
The 2011 Dallas Mavericks did not have a single elite player other than Dirk Nowitzki--Jason Kidd is an all-time great, but he was well past his prime by then--but they beat the James-Wade-Bosh super team in the NBA Finals. A similar storyline, albeit two rounds earlier, seems to be unfolding in this Denver-Phoenix series.
If the Nuggets advance and then go on to win the championship, Jokic is not going to channel LeBron James in the Orlando "bubble" and whine, "I want my respect," but Jokic has more than earned respect by the way that he plays and the way that he leads his team.
Labels: Chris Paul, Deandre Ayton, Denver Nuggets, Devin Booker, Jamal Murray, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, Phoenix Suns
posted by David Friedman @ 11:51 AM
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