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Game 1 - Monday, Jun. 7 at 10:00 p.m ET

Injuries have ruined this series already and there hasn't even been a game played.

Suns in 6 or 7. If Murray were available it'd be Denver.

Hope this goes to 7, like both teams but slightly favor the joker and nuggets.
Also not a big fan of cp3

Jokic looked unguardable against Portland, and I’m not sure what Phoenix does about that. Should be a great series.

Phoenix has more top to bottom talent. If CP3 can be healthier this series, I got them in 6 or 7.

makubesu wrote:Jokic looked unguardable against Portland, and I’m not sure what Phoenix does about that. Should be a great series.

I think Ayton can give Jokic some trouble. Should be a good series, anyone know the status of Barton? Is he expected back?

Tough series.

Depends on CP3's health. If CP3 is healthy I give Suns the nod. CP3 was a shadow of himself against the Lakers and shot horribly.

Will likely go to 7.

This should be a great series. I mentioned it before but the Nuggets are a very mentally tough team, even if it took me a while to notice it. And the Suns are just oozing with confidence. I guess I slightly favor Denver considering the CP injury, but who knows.

Suns vs Nets for the chip.

I love cps, Monty is Great and Book is the MAN

Nets in 6

HEKTOR wrote:

makubesu wrote:Jokic looked unguardable against Portland, and I’m not sure what Phoenix does about that. Should be a great series.

I think Ayton can give Jokic some trouble. Should be a good series, anyone know the status of Barton? Is he expected back?

I heard from a Denver fan buddy of mine that he would have played in a Game 7 vs Portland. So he's back.

Prediction: Nuggets win game 1 by 5 points!

Jokic: 44 pts, 12 rebs, 9 asts and 1 stl
MPJ: 35 pts (makes 8 3-pointers), 8 rebs, 2 asts and 1 blk

This series will go the full 7, folks!

Suns have more talent and should win. They also have come court

But the Nuggets have more experience and the best player.

I think without Murray Denver should not be favored here. But MPJ is also looking like a bonafide star.

I still think Suns in 6. CP3 will not squander this opportunity to make the Finals.

Suns win game 1, Nuggets win series at +550 is my bet

Denver’s worst matchups are great, slasher-heavy offenses. Denver doesn’t care about good defensive teams, because Jokic dismantles pretty much any defense thrown at him. That is why Portland was actually a tougher matchup than Suns will be for Denver imo. Suns lack the offensive talent needed to take Denver down in a 7-game series, I have Denver in 5 or 6.

interesting matchup.

Jokic vs Ayton is huge. Ayton is a good defender but there's only so much you can do against offensive talent like Jokic, he will get his. Maybe the Suns biggest weakness is frontcourt depth. If the Nuggets can get Ayton in foul trouble, they should be able to absolutely feast on Kaminsky and Saric.

The backcourt matchup goes the other way. campazzo/rivers is a huge mismatch against booker/paul even with CP3 playing at like 75%.

CP3's health is a huge question mark. His ability to attack bigs in the PnR was the Suns go-to when the offense got bogged down all season. With his shoulder right now he just can't do that. You saw LA have success in those scenarios when they were able to load up more aggressively against Booker and CP3 couldn't make them pay because the jumper isn't there yet.

Biased but i think this one leans Suns, and if CP3 can get healthy over the course of the series I feel pretty good about that. However Phoenix is at a big frontcourt disadvantage, and are putting all of their eggs in the Ayton basket to try and not get destroyed there.

A healthy CP3 would make all the difference but that's not the situation we have. Nuggets in 7.

YourCellarDoor wrote:interesting matchup.

Jokic vs Ayton is huge. Ayton is a good defender but there's only so much you can do against offensive talent like Jokic, he will get his. Maybe the Suns biggest weakness is frontcourt depth. If the Nuggets can get Ayton in foul trouble, they should be able to absolutely feast on Kaminsky and Saric.

The backcourt matchup goes the other way. campazzo/rivers is a huge mismatch against booker/paul even with CP3 playing at like 75%.

CP3's health is a huge question mark. His ability to attack bigs in the PnR was the Suns go-to when the offense got bogged down all season. With his shoulder right now he just can't do that. You saw LA have success in those scenarios when they were able to load up more aggressively against Booker and CP3 couldn't make them pay because the jumper isn't there yet.

Biased but i think this one leans Suns, and if CP3 can get healthy over the course of the series I feel pretty good about that. However Phoenix is at a big frontcourt disadvantage, and are putting all of their eggs in the Ayton basket to try and not get destroyed there.

Barton could be a huge factor because you're right--Campazzo/Rivers can't keep up with that backcourt. But adding Barton with a little Gordon mixed in makes that proposition better for Denver.

Suns in 7.

The hardest part for Denver will be adjusting their defense to defend Phoenix shooters. Malone likes to make defenders to collapse into the paint on first sign of penetration and gamble on the opponent missing easy threes. That might work for teams with great slashers and weak shooters such as the lakers but its the opposite of what should be done with the Suns.
Ayton could be a problem as an athletic finisher in the PnR but luckily for us CP3 is not healthy and i believe that Campazzo will be able to get under his skin.
Ayton on his own is not a threat.
Booker will score his but Gordon might make him work for it and even slow him down.
I also think that Nurkic was a tougher matchup for Jokic than Ayton is going to be. Smart bruisers bother Jokic the most and Ayton doesnt have the physicality or experience to deal with him. As many pointed out Suns also dont have a backup option to deal with the Joker either.
If the Suns try some fancy team defense to deal with him i believe that they will get burnt and the Nuggets will feast.

Portland was a tougher matchup for Denver than the Suns.

The only way i see Suns winning is if Malone gets outcoached and the Suns roleplayers start raining threes on Denver.

I voted Nuggets in 7.