Game 6: Phoenix Suns (4-1) @ Denver Nuggets (1-3) l Saturday l 7:00pm

[SunsRback4Good]

Who: Phoenix Suns @ Denver Nuggets

When: Friday, January 1st, @ 7:00pm (9:00ET), FSNAZ

Where: Ball Arena, Denver, CO






Phoenix Suns starting lineup:

C- Ayton

F- Crowder

F- Bridges

G- Booker

G- CP3


Reserves: Cam/Payne/Gallo/Carter/Kaminsky



Denver Nuggets starting lineup:

C- Jokic

F- Millsap

F- Barton

G- Harris

G- Murray


Reserves: Bol/Dozier/Hartenstein/Campazzo


Good luck charm!!!



















EYE ON THE PRIZE

[Revived]

I think it’s gonna be an uphill battle. We’re playing on the 2nd night of a back to back on the road in high latitude. Denver gets Murray back for this game as well.

I would strongly consider resting the 35 yr old CP3 tomorrow and maybe even Booker since he played 35+ mins. Start Payne and Cam and who knows maybe they surprise us. Regardless the team would live to see another day win or lose.

[bwgood77]

I think it’s gonna be an uphill battle. We’re playing on the 2nd night of a back to back on the road in high latitude. Denver gets Murray back for this game as well.

I would strongly consider resting the 35 yr old CP3 tomorrow and maybe even Booker since he played 35+ mins. Start Payne and Cam and who knows maybe they surprise us. Regardless the team would live to see another day win or lose.

Why? That's ridiculous. Teams resting players is ridiculous unless they have some sort of nagging injury. Every game counts. We played an OT game in Denver in the 2nd game last year and then played the Clippers the next night in LA and beat them. Two days later we lost a nail biter to Utah...where I think something weird happened at the end where we could have won.

We've already played in a b2b set in Sacramento.

Paul didn't miss any games last year, even when other players were resting in the bubble, he played until the very last bubble regular season game.

Booker missed 3 somewhat early in the season, but he's never had to rest.

Strange idea with healthy guys in a brutal Western Conference.

That's like resting Herbert next year during the thick of the playoff race.

[Revived]

I think it’s gonna be an uphill battle. We’re playing on the 2nd night of a back to back on the road in high latitude. Denver gets Murray back for this game as well.

I would strongly consider resting the 35 yr old CP3 tomorrow and maybe even Booker since he played 35+ mins. Start Payne and Cam and who knows maybe they surprise us. Regardless the team would live to see another day win or lose.

Why? That's ridiculous. Teams resting players is ridiculous unless they have some sort of nagging injury. Every game counts. We played an OT game in Denver in the 2nd game last year and then played the Clippers the next night in LA and beat them. Two days later we lost a nail biter to Utah...where I think something weird happened at the end where we could have won.

We've already played in a b2b set in Sacramento.

Paul didn't miss any games last year, even when other players were resting in the bubble, he played until the very last bubble regular season game.

Booker missed 3 somewhat early in the season, but he's never had to rest.

Strange idea with healthy guys in a brutal Western Conference.

That's like resting Herbert next year during the thick of the playoff race.

You don’t think other Western Conference teams rest their healthy players on back to backs? You gotta be kidding. You’ll be seeing that from just about every team this season with many teams playing 4 games in 5 or 6 nights on many occasions. Coach Pop commonly rested players and obviously he’s always coached in the West and I’m sure you wouldn’t think that strategy from the best coach of all time is silly. He rested Duncan when he was around CP3’s age many, many times even when he didn’t have any nagging injuries and the injury report simples said “DNP-OLD”.

If the Chargers played a game on Sunday and another the very next Monday then yeah maybe they should rest Herbert (and the entire starters) too. But thankfully football players get at least 4-5 days or more of rest between games.

Paul’s last season was a big anomaly. I’ve described how many games he’s missed before that one fluke season many, many times after we traded for him. I’ll probably sig it at some point at this rate to save time but yeah, he’s 35 years old and a very injury prone PG over the course of his career. He of course existed before last season and checking his games played in those seasons will verify this.

Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think risking injury on tired legs for the 2 best players is worth it. Denver is a top 3 team in the West and I’d like our chances under even circumstances but this isn’t that.

Especially Chris Paul. The only other 35 yr old playing as many mins as him in the league is LeBron James and if the Lakers had a back to back with the 2nd game in Denver, I think they would sit LeBron. Of course Lebron plays in the brutal western conference as well.

[Saberestar]

I think it’s gonna be an uphill battle. We’re playing on the 2nd night of a back to back on the road in high latitude. Denver gets Murray back for this game as well.

I would strongly consider resting the 35 yr old CP3 tomorrow and maybe even Booker since he played 35+ mins. Start Payne and Cam and who knows maybe they surprise us. Regardless the team would live to see another day win or lose.

Why? That's ridiculous. Teams resting players is ridiculous unless they have some sort of nagging injury. Every game counts. We played an OT game in Denver in the 2nd game last year and then played the Clippers the next night in LA and beat them. Two days later we lost a nail biter to Utah...where I think something weird happened at the end where we could have won.

We've already played in a b2b set in Sacramento.

Paul didn't miss any games last year, even when other players were resting in the bubble, he played until the very last bubble regular season game.

Booker missed 3 somewhat early in the season, but he's never had to rest.

Strange idea with healthy guys in a brutal Western Conference.

That's like resting Herbert next year during the thick of the playoff race.

You don’t think other Western Conference teams rest their healthy players on back to backs? You gotta be kidding. You’ll be seeing that from just about every team this season with many teams playing 4 games in 5 or 6 nights on many occasions. Coach Pop commonly rested players and obviously he’s always coached in the West and I’m sure you wouldn’t think that strategy from the best coach of all time is silly. He rested Duncan when he was around CP3’s age many, many times even when he didn’t have any nagging injuries and the injury report simples said “DNP-OLD”.

If the Chargers played a game on Sunday and another the very next Monday then yeah maybe they should rest Herbert (and the entire starters) too. But thankfully football players get at least 4-5 days or more of rest between games.

Paul’s last season was a big anomaly. I’ve described how many games he’s missed before that one fluke season many, many times after we traded for him. I’ll probably sig it at some point at this rate to save time but yeah, he’s 35 years old and a very injury prone PG over the course of his career. He of course existed before last season and checking his games played in those seasons will verify this.

Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think risking injury on tired legs for the 2 best players is worth it. Denver is a top 3 team in the West and I’d like our chances under even circumstances but this isn’t that.

Especially Chris Paul. The only other 35 yr old playing as many mins as him in the league is LeBron James and if the Lakers had a back to back with the 2nd game in Denver, I think they would sit LeBron. Of course Lebron plays in the brutal western conference as well.

I think that the Nuggets are not better than us, we can win even with Murray back for them.

I would not sit anyone because it is early in the season. I would consider that option closer to the playoffs.

[Bogyo]

CP already said he is taking no rest games. He didn't do it in OKC either. Also, he is only averaging like 28 minutes this year, lowest in his career, so it shouldn't really be a problem.

[bwgood77]

I think it’s gonna be an uphill battle. We’re playing on the 2nd night of a back to back on the road in high latitude. Denver gets Murray back for this game as well.

I would strongly consider resting the 35 yr old CP3 tomorrow and maybe even Booker since he played 35+ mins. Start Payne and Cam and who knows maybe they surprise us. Regardless the team would live to see another day win or lose.

Why? That's ridiculous. Teams resting players is ridiculous unless they have some sort of nagging injury. Every game counts. We played an OT game in Denver in the 2nd game last year and then played the Clippers the next night in LA and beat them. Two days later we lost a nail biter to Utah...where I think something weird happened at the end where we could have won.

We've already played in a b2b set in Sacramento.

Paul didn't miss any games last year, even when other players were resting in the bubble, he played until the very last bubble regular season game.

Booker missed 3 somewhat early in the season, but he's never had to rest.

Strange idea with healthy guys in a brutal Western Conference.

That's like resting Herbert next year during the thick of the playoff race.

You don’t think other Western Conference teams rest their healthy players on back to backs? You gotta be kidding. You’ll be seeing that from just about every team this season with many teams playing 4 games in 5 or 6 nights on many occasions. Coach Pop commonly rested players and obviously he’s always coached in the West and I’m sure you wouldn’t think that strategy from the best coach of all time is silly. He rested Duncan when he was around CP3’s age many, many times even when he didn’t have any nagging injuries and the injury report simples said “DNP-OLD”.

If the Chargers played a game on Sunday and another the very next Monday then yeah maybe they should rest Herbert (and the entire starters) too. But thankfully football players get at least 4-5 days or more of rest between games.

Paul’s last season was a big anomaly. I’ve described how many games he’s missed before that one fluke season many, many times after we traded for him. I’ll probably sig it at some point at this rate to save time but yeah, he’s 35 years old and a very injury prone PG over the course of his career. He of course existed before last season and checking his games played in those seasons will verify this.

Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think risking injury on tired legs for the 2 best players is worth it. Denver is a top 3 team in the West and I’d like our chances under even circumstances but this isn’t that.

Especially Chris Paul. The only other 35 yr old playing as many mins as him in the league is LeBron James and if the Lakers had a back to back with the 2nd game in Denver, I think they would sit LeBron. Of course Lebron plays in the brutal western conference as well.

NBA players play b2b games every year. Our players already have. They are healthy. I know Pop did it with his old players on occasion as a message to the league to not have as many b2bs, so, yes, they did it maybe 2-3 times a season, so maybe 1% of the NBA players did it in about 2-3% of the games..but certainly not at the beginning of the season

I know in the last year or two, mainly Kawhi when he came back and now players coming off injuries like KD and Kyrie and still sometimes Kawhi have done it recently. I don't see players like LeBron or CP3 doing it because they want to play and compete when they are healthy.

I know players have done it when they are tanking..but not necessarily when they are fighting for the playoffs and healthy..unless they have clinched spots and the games are essentially meaningless, but heck, CP3 didn't even really rest then last year until the final game.

You mentioned Booker too. I can't imagine how Booker would react if they told him he won't be playing because they are going to rest him. I'd love to see the reaction though. I wonder what the poll results would be if I posed the question about whether they should rest CP3 and Booker? Probably a bit one sided.

A b2b in the NBA isn't similar to the NFL playing games 2 days in a row..it's more like playing games on a Sunday and then a Thursday.

[King4Day]

I think Monty will go business as usual to start against Denver. I expect us to start hot, but if our shots are coming up short and we start to trail big, he may pull some guys.
Expect Frank, Payne, and Carter to see a ton of minutes tonight

[darmani]

Read on Twitter

[darealjuice]

Tough to have 2 high elevation games on a back to back, but this will be a good test for them.

We can't overlook Denver despite MPJ and potentially Murray being out. Jokic has played at an MVP level so far this season and they have plenty of depth. Ayton is probably most suited to defend him of their match-ups so far, so hopefully he comes to play.

I'm excited with how this team is looking to far. You can tell that Paul, Booker, and Ayton are still feeling their way around the offense, but the defense and depth have been great so far. You know that Paul is going to be all over Ayton to get this pick and roll ironed out too.

[WeekapaugGroove]

This would be a good time to try and get Ayton going offensively. Jokic isn't a great defender and it's a good idea to make him work on that end and expend energy.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

[matt131]

Read on Twitter

Ah too bad. Would love to face this team at full strength. Still, can't take it lightly. Jokic has the ability to beat us on his own.

Was looking forward to Bridges and Crowder shutting MPJ down. Would have been really fun to watch.

Murray will still be difficult for us to guard. Always has been. Too much for booker and probably a little too quick for Paul....Carter and Payne might actually be best equipped to guard him.

[Revived]

Read on Twitter

[Mulhollanddrive]

What's the record of teams who have players in covid protocol? I can only imagine it might be tough for a team to play basketball wondering if their health is at stake.

We also have an opportunity against their bench who went -10 last game: Campazzo, Morris, Dozier, Bol, Hartenstein.

If we play to our level we can win this.

But I'm not taking our streak for granted either, there's likely going to be a 10 game stretch at some point where we have significant outs so need to build up that win/loss buffer.

[WeekapaugGroove]

What's the record of teams who have players in covid protocol? I can only imagine it might be tough for a team to play basketball wondering if their health is at stake.

We also have an opportunity against their bench who went -10 last game: Campazzo, Morris, Dozier, Bol, Hartenstein.

If we play to our level we can win this.

But I'm not taking our streak for granted either, there's likely going to be a 10 game stretch at some point where we have significant outs so need to build up that win/loss buffer.

Yeah I agree you have to take advantage of your full roster because you won't always have it. That's why unless CP is actually banged up I wouldn't just rest him or anyone else tonight.

Now you probably play some of the starters a little less than usual and if the Nuggets get a big lead you probably throw the towel in a little sooner than normal.

Side note: I assume a lot of teams are going to play a Utah/Denver two game road series this year due to them trying to reduce travel. That's a nice little advantage for which ever team hosts the second night of the Rocky Mountain back to back. Probably nets each of these teams an extra win or two this season.

I also hope they keep some of this schedule stuff permanently. I like the little back to back stuff like the suns did with Sac. Less travel is good even in a non pandemic. I'd also love for 72 games to be permanent but I highly doubt that happens.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

[Frank Lee]

CP already said he is taking no rest games. He didn't do it in OKC either. Also, he is only averaging like 28 minutes this year, lowest in his career, so it shouldn't really be a problem.

It’s not a problem as long as CPayne continues to be effective. CP3 will gladly watch CP15 play pg minutes if he remains at this level. The dude plays hard, defends well and is under control. It sure helps that our bench has the likes of Saric and CJo playing along side him. Right now, this bench gets as much credit for the wins as any starter.

It looks like it should continue

[Bogyo]

CP already said he is taking no rest games. He didn't do it in OKC either. Also, he is only averaging like 28 minutes this year, lowest in his career, so it shouldn't really be a problem.

It’s not a problem as long as CPayne continues to be effective. CP3 will gladly watch CP15 play pg minutes if he remains at this level. The dude plays hard, defends well and is under control. It sure helps that our bench has the likes of Saric and CJo playing along side him. Right now, this bench gets as much credit for the wins as any starter.

It looks like it should continue

Yup, I've been pimping the bench even before the season began. Their play helps us keep our starters minutes so managable that they shouldn't really need rest days anyhow.

[irish22022]

Carter and saric will be keys on defense with these matchups.

I'd like to see bridges on Joker. I know there's a height difference, but we can have ayton cheat in the lane and clog things up.

[cberry78]

Carter and saric will be keys on defense with these matchups.

I'd like to see bridges on Joker. I know there's a height difference, but we can have ayton cheat in the lane and clog things up.

LOL Bridges gives up 6 inches and 75 lbs to Jokic. I love the kid on D, but he would get murdered.

Jae's got a better chance at keeping Jokic out of the paint.

[Crives]

Back to back games at elevation will be tough, will help get our guys in shape though