The Phoenix Suns have fallen to another loss in their second-round series against the Denver Nuggets after a tough offensive showing restricted them to 87 points on the night.
Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone isn’t a fan of the Suns’ strategy of trying to beat them by making tough mid-range shots orchestrated by Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
“Tough 2s don’t beat us over 48 minutes.”
Nuggets coach Michael Malone: “Tough 2s don’t beat us over 48 minutes.” Suns are making it a priority to generate more than the 23 3-point attempts they had in Game 1.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) May 2, 2023
The Suns actually attempted 31 threes to Denver’s 27 threes on the night, but Game 1 was a different story, as Phoenix had entered the second half of Game 1 having made only five threes in the game. Their lack of consistent three-point creation or conversion this series has been concerning, shooting 30.4% in Game 1 and 19.4% in Game 2.
A Series Comeback In The Works?
Even though Kevin Durant was immensely disappointing in Game 2, there’s no way anyone can just count him out, given his history. Devin Booker has been scoring consistently, but he may have to tap into his playmaking skills for Game 3 and help create more shots with Chris Paul getting hurt tonight.
The Nuggets seem way too complete as a roster to give Phoenix another opening in this matchup. The defense that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Aaron Gordon, and Bruce Brown have played has been suffocating, while Nikola Jokic is continuing to play at an MVP level. Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. had a tough Game 2 but have been great in the playoffs so far, especially Murray.
The Nuggets will need to pick up a road win in Game 3 to officially shut the door on the Suns and not allow the still-dangerous duo of Booker and Durant to catch fire.
Source: fadeawayworld.net
