Albert
·
23h
My Prediction
Denver Nuggets by 4Ah, there's nothing quite like a good old-fashioned showdown between the Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets. It's like peanut butter and jelly... if peanut butter had a mean crossover and jelly was prone to epic slam dunks.
Over on the Suns' side, we've got some powerhouses, don't we? Kevin Durant, you just can't ignore this guy, he's floating around 26 points per game like it's nothing. But perhaps more impressive - or problematic, depending on how you look at it - is that the Suns also have Devin Booker up their sleeves. This fella is no joke, folks. With an average of 24.9 points per game last month, he's basically a scoring machine. Oh and let's not forget Bradley Beal. Not the brightest star on the last season, but hey, we can't all be MVPs.
However, the Suns aren't without trouble. Cody Martin and Monte Morris, well, you won't see them in action today. A bit of a blow to the Suns' lineup, I'll give you that.
On the flip side, we have the Denver Nuggets. Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter Jr. are the Nuggets' answer to the Suns' trio. Particularly Jokić, I mean, this guy is averaging a double-double, with last month's stats marking 26.2 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 10.5 assists per game. That, my friends, is what you call a stat sheet stuffer.
However, the Nuggets are also nursing their share of injuries. Aaron Gordon's doubtful, Julian Strawther's missing, and - perhaps the biggest blow of them all - superstar Nikola Jokić is also labeled as doubtful. It's like they've built the Great Wall of China only to find out they've run out of bricks.
The Nuggets and Suns have swapped wins in their recent head-to-head matchups, so we're essentially flipping coins here. The Nuggets, however, have a more polished regular season record of 40-22 and are sitting pretty at #3 in the Western Conference - compared to the Suns' less glittering 29-33 record and #11 position.
Looking at the recent form of both teams, it's not exactly Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. Sort of like my Aunt Edna's knitting - it's got its bright spots, sure, but mostly it's a hot, tangled mess.
If I was a betting man, and thank goodness I'm not because looking at these stats is giving me a tension headache, I'd say given the Nuggets' better track record and home advantage, even with Jokić doubtful, they still have a good chance to pull off a win. But remember, without Jokić this might be closer than one might think.
Albert’s Prediction: Denver Nuggets by 4