2023 West Semifinals | (1) Denver Nuggets VS (4) Phoenix Suns (Series tied 2-2)

[GeorgeSears]

In this game, the Suns were completely bailed out by their bench unit. 40-11.

ok?

Who exactly was bailed out? lol KD/Booker combined for 72 points on 37 shots.

It wasn't enough. They won by 5 points and that required their bench outscoring the nuggets 40-11.

[Mickey8]

ok?

Who exactly was bailed out? lol KD/Booker combined for 72 points on 37 shots.

It wasn't enough. They won by 5 points and that required their bench outscoring the nuggets 40-11.

Now they got bench and Denver does not and Malone is clueless on the sidelines. There is no bright light for Denver, they are doomed, its over. The Suns fans should celebrate that Paul got injured in this series.

[Mickey8]

Jokic with 2 of the greatest playoff games ever and they lost both :O

30p, 17r, 17a on 58% FG
50p, 4r, 11abon 60% FG

Man was responsible directly for ~150 points in 2 games.

For the love of god just say no to Lillard.

[HotRocks34]

Dillon Brooks front-runner alert.

Read on Twitter

[Exp0sed]

Who exactly was bailed out? lol KD/Booker combined for 72 points on 37 shots.

It wasn't enough. They won by 5 points and that required their bench outscoring the nuggets 40-11.

Now they got bench and Denver does not and Malone is clueless on the sidelines. There is no bright light for Denver, they are doomed, its over. The Suns fans should celebrate that Paul got injured in this series.

Malone is a moron this is nothing new, i've been saying it over and over for a couple of seasons
I agree that Cp3 getting injured was a blessing in disguise, however let's not get carried away

Denver was pretty meh on the road and pretty darn good at home
let's see a guy like Shamet doing it in Denver, Denver's role players will play better at home too
Brown, KCP, AG etc. were real factors at home and not so much on the road

Malone does have a bench he just doesn't use it
I mean if ur getting scored on with such ease, why not give a couple of mins to our boy Petyon?
guys like Vlatko, Bryant, Zeke etc. haven't even gotten off the bench in this series at all

and the worst part is seeing Jokic get a breather and Jamal going to back to the basket, iso hero ball for no reason

just move the ball, play basketball - wheres the damn coach? that's his job to set Murray straight

p.s, taking a time out with 23 seconds left where Jokic lost his handle, that's a stupid handoff that only results in Murray hogging the ball and taking a contested jumper

just give Jokic the ball inside and let him work, try and draw a foul etc
if he misses he misses, he's ur MVP and u just live with that

stupid crunch play

[HumbleRen]

I still can’t believe at how well Booker is playing.

Legendary stretch from him.

[Wolfgang630]

This series is

Joker
Booker
KD




Murray

[iggymcfrack]

Interesting note: Jokic passed Jordan this game for #1 in career playoff PER.

[California Gold]

Must-win for the Nuggets in game 5 or this series is over.

In a way too I think it's a must-win for the Suns as well because I don't believe they would win a game 7 in Ball Arena either.

[sunsbg]

Nuggets still the favorite, but they need a better performance on home court than the one in Gm2 after Monty figured out the lineups in last two games.

[hardenASG13]

Nuggets still the favorite, but they need a better performance on home court than the one in Gm2 after Monty figured out the lineups in last two games.

Yes, play guys who can shoot around Durant and Booker. Monty is a tactical genius haha. To his credit, OKC could never figure that out with Durant/Westbrook.

Also, letting Jokic go 1 on 1 and score (which he's doing in amazing, dominant fashion but that's not Denvers game). That's worked as the Suns are having no problem matching buckets on the other end.

[garrick]

ok?

Who exactly was bailed out? lol KD/Booker combined for 72 points on 37 shots.

It wasn't enough. They won by 5 points and that required their bench outscoring the nuggets 40-11.

Took a heroic effort from Joker to score 50 points otherwise Suns are winning this by double digits.

Denver still has home court and it's going to be incredibly difficult for Phoenix to get a win next game but if the bench can hit some of their open shots Suns have a good chance of winning the series.

In game 1 and 2 the bench looked so low on confidence and part of that is playing on the road but I think after seeing some shots finally go down they don't play half as bad as game 1 and 2.

[Wolfgang630]

Must-win for the Nuggets in game 5 or this series is over.

In a way too I think it's a must-win for the Suns as well because I don't believe they would win a game 7 in Ball Arena either.

It’s a must win for both teams. They both have the same pressure

[sashaturiaf]

2021 Playoffs Jokic loses composure in 3rd quarter while getting swept and gets ejected after hard foul on Cameron Payne. This guy has a history. The officials called it a violent hit to the face.

Watch on YouTube

Jokic has a thuggish streak and has injured more than one guy with his recklessness and poor impulse control. If you suspend Draymond "based off past offenses" then Jokic should get a game as well.

But if you listen to the official narrative you'd think he was a choir boy.

[Mickey8]

Adjustments that could have been made in the last two games by the clueless Denver coach.

1) Stop doubling Booker and Durant every time. You can try few possessions but if you see that the role players are hitting the open shots you have to stop that kind of defense and let your self beat by two points instead of three. Malone's inability to adjust to the flow of the game is astounding.

2) Go deep down inside your bag. Give some other players on the bench the chance especially when you are getting nothing out of KCP,Brown and Green. Play Nnaji, give some burn to Jackson I know he was terrible in the few games in the regular season but he had his moments in the play off's games in the past, maybe he could have been the spark off the bench . Even rookie Payton could have been played a bit , he did decent job against Durant in two regular season games. He has the length and athleticism to bother him some. You had leverage to try all those players especially when you had lead of 2-0 in the series. But this coach have no guts or the vision unfortunately.

[Mickey8]

2021 Playoffs Jokic loses composure in 3rd quarter while getting swept and gets ejected after hard foul on Cameron Payne. This guy has a history. The officials called it a violent hit to the face.

Watch on YouTube

Jokic has a thuggish streak and has injured more than one guy with his recklessness and poor impulse control. If you suspend Draymond "based off past offenses" then Jokic should get a game as well.

But if you listen to the official narrative you'd think he was a choir boy.

Who did he injured besides Morris who had it coming Payne was acting there like he was really hit

[Wolfgang630]

We’re starting to see what Mike Malone is made out of him. This is where great coaches are made too. It’s not just players.

[ChampionRed]

As an outsider - what a series. Scoring and shooting at the highest level. KD is truly a wonder. He's been hurt every year these past few years and you would never know. His play right now reminds me of the Bucks series in 2021 where he just couldn't be stopped. The crazy thing is Booker is even more proficient than him right now! Jokic has been super impressive as well. Say what you want about the guy but he is far and away the most talented big man in the league and flat-out unstoppable. Praying as an NBA fan that this series goes seven with multiple overtimes in game 7. I don't want it to end!

[PlatinumState]

Whoever wins game 5 is going through.

[p0peye]

Midrange game is making a comeback. Booker is killing Denver even though Nuggets defence is giving them very tough looks, especially to KD. Nuggets trying to double and trap Booker resulted in Shamet and Ross getting open shots from 3. Jokić going into straight beast mode.

Great, great series.