This was a matchup everyone anticipated happening when Kevin Durant joined the Phoenix Suns in February.
A high-profile series between reigning two-time MVP Nikola Jokic and Durant, arguably the best scoring forward in NBA history, in the second round of the playoffs.
Two franchises still searching for their first championship are playing what some have called the de facto Western Conference finals. The No. 1 seed Nuggets and the fourth-seeded Suns will play a conference semifinal series starting with Game 1 tipping off Saturday night in Denver.
“We like our chances,” Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon said. “I feel like we’ve continued to take care of ourselves on and off the floor to give ourselves an opportunity to be healthy and get a chance to get our legs back against Phoenix.”
Two years ago, Gordon was traded to Denver before the deadline, and the organization hoped he would be the final piece of a title team. But Jamal Murray tore his left ACL before the playoffs, and while the Nuggets got out of the first round, they were swept by the Suns in the second round.
Murray is not only back, but he also looks like he has recaptured his 2020 bubble form when he led Denver to the Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
He came alive in the first round against Minnesota in Denver’s five-game series win, leading the Nuggets with 27.2 points per game and reigniting the two-man punch with Jokic, who averaged 26.2 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists against the Timberwolves.
Phoenix will be a different challenge than Minnesota. While the Suns aren’t as deep, they have Durant and Devin Booker, who both dominated the first-round series win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Booker averaged 37.2 points and 6.4 assists in the five-game series while Durant averaged 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.2 assists.
The teams split the four games in the regular season, with the home team winning each time. Denver’s two wins came before Durant arrived and the Suns’ victories came late in the year while the Nuggets sat most of their top players, including Jokic.
Phoenix wrapped up its series with the Clippers on Tuesday night and flew up to Colorado on Thursday to help adjust to the altitude change. The Suns practiced Thursday and Friday at Ball Arena to prepare for the first two games on the road.
“We as a staff were talking about options and right when the game was over, our guys were like wanting to get up here,” Phoenix coach Monty Williams said. “I thought it was great to be able to get up here. It’s almost like a mini training camp, if you will. It’s just us talking, going over things that are necessary. Allowing them to get some good work in and go to the hotel and just have a great camaraderie and unity and all that stuff.”
The Suns are favored to win the series and reach the NBA Finals, but that doesn’t bother Denver.
“We know how talented (the Suns) are,” coach Michael Malone said. “There’s a reason they are the odds-on favorite to come out of the West right now. We don’t take that personally.”
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