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NBA PLAYOFFS: RD 2 l Game 3 - (2) Phoenix Suns @ (3) Denver Nuggets l Friday l 7:00 l ESPN l Suns lead series (2-0)

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What three players stepped up most in first two home games?

Bridges
26
26%
CP3
36
36%
Crowder
5
5%
Booker
2
2%
Ayton
21
21%
Payne
0
No votes
Saric
6
6%
Craig
5
5%
 
Total votes: 101

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Re: NBA PLAYOFFS: RD 2 l Game 3 - (2) Phoenix Suns @ (3) Denver Nuggets l Friday l 7:00 l ESPN l Suns lead series (2-0) 

Post#41 » by WeekapaugGroove » Fri Jun 11, 2021 3:25 pm

pj0tr wrote:
WeekapaugGroove wrote:Every suns player should be watching this bucks nets game. This is the type of energy they are going to see tomorrow.

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Yep. I mean this is the series for Denver basically. Lose tonight, and this series is over.

I also have a feeling the Nuggets are going to try to be extremely physical at home, and try to muck up the game, and bank on getting a ton of favorable calls at home.

The Suns cannot lose their cool. They need to come out and try to match Denver's energy, but be prepared to take their best punch early.

I don't think it would be surprising at all to see Denver hitting 3s early and getting out to a 10-15 point lead. If the Suns can take their first punch, and keep the game close at halftime, they can come out in the 2nd half and try to put this series away.
Totally agree. This is the type of game where you have to know a first punch is coming and the suns need to weather it and just keep playing their game. Phoenix is the deeper team and can wear them down if they can keep it close.

I kind of expect Booker to come out a little more agressive and see if he can throw an early haymaker like he did in game 6 in LA.

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Re: NBA PLAYOFFS: RD 2 l Game 3 - (2) Phoenix Suns @ (3) Denver Nuggets l Friday l 7:00 l ESPN l Suns lead series (2-0) 

Post#42 » by Barkley6 » Fri Jun 11, 2021 3:40 pm

pj0tr wrote:
WeekapaugGroove wrote:Every suns player should be watching this bucks nets game. This is the type of energy they are going to see tomorrow.

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Yep. I mean this is the series for Denver basically. Lose tonight, and this series is over.

I also have a feeling the Nuggets are going to try to be extremely physical at home, and try to muck up the game, and bank on getting a ton of favorable calls at home.

The Suns cannot lose their cool. They need to come out and try to match Denver's energy, but be prepared to take their best punch early.

I don't think it would be surprising at all to see Denver hitting 3s early and getting out to a 10-15 point lead. If the Suns can take their first punch, and keep the game close at halftime, they can come out in the 2nd half and try to put this series away.


I agree this is what Denver will try to do, but I also think that after the Lakers series the Suns are going to be way too smart to take the bait. I don't see the Nuggets having the type of characters to really make it chippy.

I think more than anything, we need to win the rebounding battle. Finishing good defense by securing the glass can make all the difference. Denver beat us in offensive rebounds in each of the last two games, despite the lopsided scoreline. Work on limiting those chances and I think we win, even in a close one.
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Re: NBA PLAYOFFS: RD 2 l Game 3 - (2) Phoenix Suns @ (3) Denver Nuggets l Friday l 7:00 l ESPN l Suns lead series (2-0) 

Post#43 » by spanishninja » Fri Jun 11, 2021 4:20 pm

betmakers don't have respect for us either, as Nuggets are favored by 1.5 points for G3. We got no choice but to continue going for the throats here.
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Re: NBA PLAYOFFS: RD 2 l Game 3 - (2) Phoenix Suns @ (3) Denver Nuggets l Friday l 7:00 l ESPN l Suns lead series (2-0) 

Post#44 » by King4Day » Fri Jun 11, 2021 4:35 pm

What kind of adjustments do you expect to see tonight from either side?
I am sure Monty will have some in-game adjustments ready, but this might be a case of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' game.
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Re: NBA PLAYOFFS: RD 2 l Game 3 - (2) Phoenix Suns @ (3) Denver Nuggets l Friday l 7:00 l ESPN l Suns lead series (2-0) 

Post#45 » by dmastro32 » Fri Jun 11, 2021 5:55 pm

King4Day wrote:What kind of adjustments do you expect to see tonight from either side?
I am sure Monty will have some in-game adjustments ready, but this might be a case of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' game.


I expect some type of zone fromDenver in different spots, which we should counter with crash the glass. Expect Denver to be physical maybe a borderline flagrant from green, Milsap or McGee when they check in. Also I could see Denver not taking a 3 for the first 3 or 4 minutes of the game. They will try and get both porter and Gordon going. I also expect Barton to replace Rivers in the starting lineup
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Re: NBA PLAYOFFS: RD 2 l Game 3 - (2) Phoenix Suns @ (3) Denver Nuggets l Friday l 7:00 l ESPN l Suns lead series (2-0) 

Post#46 » by Barkley6 » Fri Jun 11, 2021 5:58 pm

King4Day wrote:What kind of adjustments do you expect to see tonight from either side?
I am sure Monty will have some in-game adjustments ready, but this might be a case of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' game.


Denver has to show they can beat us before we adjust. Though it's hard for me to see how Denver can do something schematically to improve their team. Yeah, they can increase their effort and grit, but at points in Game 2, they just looked beaten. It's hard to undo that mindset. I think whatever the Suns have thrown at them has given Denver such fits that they just don't feel like they can hang with us.

We've also been daring them to hit shots, and they havent. If they hit them, that might be an adjustment we make, but until they do there is no reason to change that. The problem is, you can't game plan your way out of cold shooting.
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Re: NBA PLAYOFFS: RD 2 l Game 3 - (2) Phoenix Suns @ (3) Denver Nuggets l Friday l 7:00 l ESPN l Suns lead series (2-0) 

Post#47 » by WeekapaugGroove » Fri Jun 11, 2021 6:03 pm

dmastro32 wrote:
King4Day wrote:What kind of adjustments do you expect to see tonight from either side?
I am sure Monty will have some in-game adjustments ready, but this might be a case of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' game.


I expect some type of zone fromDenver in different spots, which we should counter with crash the glass. Expect Denver to be physical maybe a borderline flagrant from green, Milsap or McGee when they check in. Also I could see Denver not taking a 3 for the first 3 or 4 minutes of the game. They will try and get both porter and Gordon going. I also expect Barton to replace Rivers in the starting lineup
I would absolutely love if Denver goes zone. The suns have enough smarts and shooting to absolutely destroy it.

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Re: NBA PLAYOFFS: RD 2 l Game 3 - (2) Phoenix Suns @ (3) Denver Nuggets l Friday l 7:00 l ESPN l Suns lead series (2-0) 

Post#48 » by dmastro32 » Fri Jun 11, 2021 6:08 pm

WeekapaugGroove wrote:
dmastro32 wrote:
King4Day wrote:What kind of adjustments do you expect to see tonight from either side?
I am sure Monty will have some in-game adjustments ready, but this might be a case of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' game.


I expect some type of zone fromDenver in different spots, which we should counter with crash the glass. Expect Denver to be physical maybe a borderline flagrant from green, Milsap or McGee when they check in. Also I could see Denver not taking a 3 for the first 3 or 4 minutes of the game. They will try and get both porter and Gordon going. I also expect Barton to replace Rivers in the starting lineup
I would absolutely love if Denver goes zone. The suns have enough smarts and shooting to absolutely destroy it.

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The Lakers did it a few time and we chased them out of it quickly with bridges or crowder cutting to free throw line and Ayton going rim which was beautiful! So I hope they do too.
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Re: NBA PLAYOFFS: RD 2 l Game 3 - (2) Phoenix Suns @ (3) Denver Nuggets l Friday l 7:00 l ESPN l Suns lead series (2-0) 

Post#49 » by King4Day » Fri Jun 11, 2021 6:22 pm

Barkley6 wrote:
King4Day wrote:What kind of adjustments do you expect to see tonight from either side?
I am sure Monty will have some in-game adjustments ready, but this might be a case of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' game.


Denver has to show they can beat us before we adjust. Though it's hard for me to see how Denver can do something schematically to improve their team. Yeah, they can increase their effort and grit, but at points in Game 2, they just looked beaten. It's hard to undo that mindset. I think whatever the Suns have thrown at them has given Denver such fits that they just don't feel like they can hang with us.

We've also been daring them to hit shots, and they havent. If they hit them, that might be an adjustment we make, but until they do there is no reason to change that. The problem is, you can't game plan your way out of cold shooting.


This reminds me of the Nets/Bucks game last night.
If BKN hits 2/10ths of their open shots, they win that game. It wasn't all defense last night. Just ugly offense on both ends.
I expect Denver to make a big run to start the game, but I don't expect a 9-0 deficit and a timeout similar to last night.
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Re: NBA PLAYOFFS: RD 2 l Game 3 - (2) Phoenix Suns @ (3) Denver Nuggets l Friday l 7:00 l ESPN l Suns lead series (2-0) 

Post#51 » by Jarlaxle0204 » Fri Jun 11, 2021 7:31 pm

I have a feeling Denver will come out of the gates hot and build up a lead. We just have to weather the early storm. I expect Booker to shoot a bit more to try and keep us in it early and then we go on a run in the 3rd and win by 10 at the end of the game.
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Re: NBA PLAYOFFS: RD 2 l Game 3 - (2) Phoenix Suns @ (3) Denver Nuggets l Friday l 7:00 l ESPN l Suns lead series (2-0) 

Post#52 » by spanishninja » Fri Jun 11, 2021 7:44 pm

I am somewhat concerned that the Nuggets started hitting threes late in the game in G2. Granted it was their scrubs playing against our scrubs but I'd hate to see them gain confidence off of that.
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Re: NBA PLAYOFFS: RD 2 l Game 3 - (2) Phoenix Suns @ (3) Denver Nuggets l Friday l 7:00 l ESPN l Suns lead series (2-0) 

Post#53 » by bwgood77 » Fri Jun 11, 2021 8:31 pm

charley barkles wrote:
bwgood77 wrote:Back to our game. I don't expect the Nuggets to come back but Utah beat them by 19 in game 2 last year, then 37 in game 3, and then up 2-1 after those blowouts, they hung on to beat the Nuggets by 2 in game 4, to go up 3-1 before losing the last 3.

Clips also beat the Nuggets in game 1 last year by 23, and then games 3 and 4 by 17 before the Nuggets won 3 straight. So they do have resilience.

Of course they are missing Murray but just thought I'd point that they got blown out a few times in the beginning of series last year and trailed by 2 games before winning the series.


No Murray, no Harris, no Grant, no Craig. This Denver team is way different. Plus, I think this Suns team is better than last years Utah or Clippers teams.

I guess anything is possible - I just don’t see it happening.


Sure, the Nuggets have Gordon, Barton, JaMychal Green, Campazzo and Rivers instead of Murray, Harris, Grant and Craig, but I don't know that the latter is THAT much better. Grant was good but not great last year..Murray was great and Harris solid, but Gordon and Barton are no scrubs, Campazzo plays hard and Green and Rivers are decent.

But I agree. I think we are better than the Jazz last year, but Mitchell was on fire kind of like he's been the last few games, and they were still a tough team that had been there.

Then the Clips...are we better? I don't know. I know we beat them in the bubble on that last second shot, and are obviously a lot better this year, but they still had their same big guns plus 6th man of the year Montrezl Harrell and I think the runner up in Lou Williams.

The Clips were 49-23 to our 51-21, but we did play a lot more injured teams. The bubble win was actually the difference or we actually have the same record they did last year.

And they didn't take all 8 bubble games seriously.

Kawhi was coming off a championship.

Most here have wanted to avoid the Clippers this year and they may have been better last year.

My point is that 2-0 series are blown all the time...even with blowout wins. I've seen it with the Suns against the Rockets...twice.

The first time in 94 we won the first two on the road, and then lost the next two at home.

In 95 they were the 6 seed and I thought we were the best team in the NBA and we beat them by 22 in game one and 24 in game 2, lost game 4, won game 4 to go up 3-1 and lost the series.

I doubt we lose, but Jokic, who was better this year, Porter, who is better this year, Gordon, who is tough and Barton who wasn't in the playoffs last year are not bad. A lot may depend on Porter, if they come to play hard and if Jokic chokes.

I think we will come out strong though. Nothing would surprise me except us getting blown out. I could see us killing them, pulling one out, or them playing tough and pulling one out, or possibly two. We could sweep them, come back up 3-1, or even 2-2.

I guess my bet would probably be 3-1. I don't know that we shoot quite as well as we did, and we have been fortunate with injuries, with none for us and a few for them.

However, I do think this is the best we've played all season the way we are distributing the scoring evenly and all the starters have been in double digits, and are shooters are starting to break out of their slumps.
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Re: NBA PLAYOFFS: RD 2 l Game 3 - (2) Phoenix Suns @ (3) Denver Nuggets l Friday l 7:00 l ESPN l Suns lead series (2-0) 

Post#54 » by ducler » Fri Jun 11, 2021 9:22 pm

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Re: NBA PLAYOFFS: RD 2 l Game 3 - (2) Phoenix Suns @ (3) Denver Nuggets l Friday l 7:00 l ESPN l Suns lead series (2-0) 

Post#55 » by bwgood77 » Fri Jun 11, 2021 9:46 pm

What's been most impressive about the Suns' 2-0 lead over the Nuggets?

MacMahon: Chris Paul has been in complete control of the series so far, but he has dominated playoff series before, despite never having advanced all the way to the Finals. How Deandre Ayton would handle his matchup with MVP Nikola Jokic was the Suns' biggest question going into the series. The 22-year-old Ayton has more than held his own. He has averaged 17.5 points and 10.0 rebounds while shooting 65.2% from the floor in the two wins. More importantly, Ayton has made life difficult on Jokic, who is 11-of-26 from the floor with only four assists when Ayton has been the primary defender on him, according to NBA Advanced Stats.

Sedano: It's Paul. Let's be real, there weren't many out there who didn't feel he was snakebitten again after his injury in the first round. He battled through that and has regained his form to take a commanding 2-0 lead over Denver. His Game 2 performance was masterful. His 17-point, 15-assist, zero-turnover night was the first playoff game with 15-plus points, 15-plus assists and no turnovers since 2014. The player who accomplished that feat in 2014? Chris Paul. Before 2014, the last time it happened was 2008 ... by Chris Paul.

Young: The poise of the young Suns. Paul is a weighted blanket for the rest of the roster, providing the security the Suns need in tight situations. But as steady as he has been -- 26 assists to one turnover is absurd -- the rest of the Suns' youngsters have played their parts wonderfully. Ayton is up to the challenge against Jokic. Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson look comfortable in their roles. And Devin Booker appears built for any postseason moment thrown his way.

Pelton: Ayton's defense against Jokic. Despite early foul trouble in Game 2, Ayton has just about matched the MVP minute for minute (Jokic has played four minutes with Ayton on the bench, per NBA Advanced Stats) and deserves the majority of the credit for holding Jokic in check as both a scorer (23 PPG on 47.5% shooting) and distributor (4.5 APG).

Windhorst: Phoenix's depth. Paul has been otherworldly during the Suns' five-game win streak and he's got an incredible 53-4 assist-to-turnover ratio in that span. But in both games this series, the Suns have had five players in double figures. Ayton is playing the best ball of his life, Cameron Payne is electric off the bench and the Jae Crowder/Bridges 3-and-D combo has been perfect.
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Re: NBA PLAYOFFS: RD 2 l Game 3 - (2) Phoenix Suns @ (3) Denver Nuggets l Friday l 7:00 l ESPN l Suns lead series (2-0) 

Post#56 » by GoodBehavior » Fri Jun 11, 2021 10:28 pm

Keep in mind, the Suns hasn't played all that well in the first half of both games. This team has performed well on the road all season long, as well. With Ayton owning the paint on both end of the floors, I don't expect much of a letdown from game 2.
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Re: NBA PLAYOFFS: RD 2 l Game 3 - (2) Phoenix Suns @ (3) Denver Nuggets l Friday l 7:00 l ESPN l Suns lead series (2-0) 

Post#57 » by WeekapaugGroove » Fri Jun 11, 2021 11:18 pm

I wonder if Malone considers starting Morris over the Euro dude and Barton over Porter tonight.

Morris hasn't been good this series but he's a better defender and maybe a move to the starting lineup gets his offense going.

Barton was good but that move would be more an attempt to play Porter more against the suns second unit and away from Chris Paul who just repeatedly targets him on D.

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Re: NBA PLAYOFFS: RD 2 l Game 3 - (2) Phoenix Suns @ (3) Denver Nuggets l Friday l 7:00 l ESPN l Suns lead series (2-0) 

Post#58 » by ATTL » Sat Jun 12, 2021 12:08 am

I wish they would bring in local color commentators for these games. I miss hearing Eddie and he'd be loving this run.
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Re: NBA PLAYOFFS: RD 2 l Game 3 - (2) Phoenix Suns @ (3) Denver Nuggets l Friday l 7:00 l ESPN l Suns lead series (2-0) 

Post#59 » by Calvin Klein » Sat Jun 12, 2021 12:59 am

WeekapaugGroove wrote:I wonder if Malone considers starting Morris over the Euro dude and Barton over Porter tonight.


I guess you mean Campazzo. He's from Argentina. Which is in South America, my friend.
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Re: NBA PLAYOFFS: RD 2 l Game 3 - (2) Phoenix Suns @ (3) Denver Nuggets l Friday l 7:00 l ESPN l Suns lead series (2-0) 

Post#60 » by spanishninja » Sat Jun 12, 2021 1:43 am

Watching Hawks/Sixers now and the arena is almost silent now. It is possible to take the road crowd out of it and we need to do the same to Denver.

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