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The moment most NBA fans were waiting for is finally here. With the Western Conference Semifinals almost set, we already know that we’ll get to see two of the best teams in the league going at it. That’s why we’ll put together our Nuggets vs Suns series prediction 2023.
The Nuggets were the best team in the Western Conference during the regular season, and it wasn’t even close. Nonetheless, they’ll go against perhaps the biggest winner of the NBA trade deadline, as the Phoenix Suns revamped their lineup with Kevin Durant‘s addition.
As usually happens at this stage, this series will be a bit of a coin toss. Nonetheless, some people have never thought of the Nuggets as a legit contender and believe they’re just a great regular-season team with no actual chance of going the distance.
That’s why Nikola Jokic and company will need to silence their doubters once and for all, and there won’t be a better stage to pull that off than this one, as they’ll go against one of the greatest players of all time and his more-than-impressive supporting cast. Who’ll prevail? Let’s break it down.
Nuggets vs Suns series prediction 2023
Our Suns Nuggets prediction in the 2023 Playoffs begins with a little context. The Phoenix Suns entered the season with plenty of offseason drama.
Deandre Ayton had a feud with coach Monty Williams and almost left the team as a restricted free agent, while starting forward Jae Crowder decided to sit out as he pushed to get a new contract. Also, Chris Paul claimed he didn’t learn anything from last season’s heartbreaking playoff loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
The narrative around the Suns at the time was that their championship window was closing right before their eyes. Chris Paul isn’t getting any younger and as such, he needs to win now. Also, some thought they had peaked already.
The Suns struggled with injuries early in the season. Both Devin Booker and Chris Paul missed some time with nagging pains, which is mostly why they weren’t a higher seed in the Western Conference. Then, they gave away plenty of depth by losing Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson, but they added Kevin Durant.
The Suns went 8-0 with KD on the floor before suffering that Game 1 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. They’ve won four in a row since, with KD looking like the perfect complement to Devin Booker, who’s been the best player on the team thus far.
On the other side of the floor, we’ll find a Denver Nuggets team that wasn’t supposed to be this good this season, either. They’re finally healthy, which had always been the knock on them.
Nikola Jokic had arguably the best season of his career, which is a lot to say, considering he’s coming off back-to-back MVP campaigns. He was in great shape, set a personal best in nearly every category, and was pretty close to becoming the first big man to average a triple-double for a season.
Jokic’s MVP campaign was accompanied by Aaron Gordon‘s stellar defensive play and freakish athleticism. Bruce Brown was a major defensive upgrade in the backcourt as well, giving them perhaps one of the most stacked starting lineups in the game.
Of course, having Jamal Murray back on the floor was also crucial to Mike Malone’s team’s aspirations. Murray is the clear-cut No. 2 on this team, but he can also get hot and put up huge numbers, and he’s proved it in the playoffs already.
Even so, this team’s X-factor might well be Michael Porter Jr. The Suns don’t have a lot of depth, but MPJ can become a lite version of Kevin Durant on any given night, at least on the offensive side of the floor. If he gets going early, it’ll be tough to stop
Suns to win the series (-127)
Our Nuggets vs Suns series prediction 2023 starts with our winner, which is the Phoenix Suns. However, we don’t believe this will be easy, nor are we a part of the group of people who think the Nuggets are just a good regular-season team.
However, there are levels to everything, and the Suns have an edge in the starting lineup in every position except Center. Nikola Jokic is the ultimate all-round offensive player, and there’s no such thing as containing him. What you can do, however, is keep his supporting cast in check.
We believe coach Monty Williams will allow Jokic to go to town with Ayton on every possession while denying Murray and Porter Jr. the ball. There’s no need to guard Brown on the perimeter, so they can always double the others when they get the ball at the top of the key.
The Nuggets play solid defense, but there’s no way to stop Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, at least not on the same night for four straight games.
Series to end in six games (+185)
This has the chance to be one of the best playoff series of all-time. The Nuggets could shock us all and put the Suns against the ropes to force seven games, and they do have homecourt advantage, which is huge in Colorado’s rocky mountains.
Even so, we believe the Suns will be able to steal at least one game on the road. They’re just too stacked and have too much talent, and the Nuggets nearly left a couple of games to slip right through their fingers in their series against the lesser Minnesota Timberwolves.
All odds courtesy of BetRivers.
