Nuggets-Suns Preview: Phoenix Too Much for Depleted Denver

We’ll check into the Association tonight with some late-night hoops between the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns in the desert.

The Nuggets secured the No. 1 seed in the West last night with a Memphis loss, while Phoenix’s current six-game winning streak has locked them into the four seed, making a Conference Semifinals matchup between these two clubs a strong possibility in a few weeks. 

• Location: Footprint Center | Phoenix, AZ
• Time: 10:00 p.m. ET | TV: TNT

For Denver, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are both listed as questionable, and I would be shocked if they suit up. Denver has nothing to play for, and Jokic is seemingly out of the MVP race. Murray left Tuesday’s game early with a thumb injury and never returned. Resting them makes sense.

While Phoenix has little to play for, they shouldn’t shut it down because they still are learning to play with each other. Kevin Durant has only played seven games as a Sun, so continuing to build chemistry with each other as they prepare for the playoffs is needed. 

• Spread: Nuggets +10 (-112) | Suns -10 (-108)
• Moneyline: Nuggets (+385) | Suns (-580)
• Total: Over 223.5 (-110) | Under 223.5 (-110)

I expect Phoenix to roll in this game. Again, I’d be shocked if Jokic and Murray played. There could be some bounce-back effect after losing by double digits to the Houston Rockets, but the surging Suns are too much for a depleted Nuggets team to overcome. Lay the points with the home team.

• Aaron Gordon OVER Points+Rebounds+Assists
• Bruce Brown OVER Assists
• Devin Booker 30+ Points

With Denver’s injury uncertainties, no official player props are posted yet, so here are some plays we’ll be targeting.

Aaron Gordon looks to be the primary beneficiary of Murray’s absence. With Murray, Gordon’s combined PRA averages sit at 24.3. In eight games without Murray, that line climbs to 37.2. I don’t know what to expect this line to arrive at, but I’ll hammer it if it’s around 30-33.

Bruce Brown eats up Murray’s minutes, and without Jokic to dish out the assists, expect Brown to be the primary distributor. Play his OVER in what should be a fast-paced game.

Devin Booker has seen some scoring regression of late, going under 30 points in six straight. Yes, that coincides with KD’s insertion. However, Booker has only averaged one less field goal attempt per game. He just hasn’t been hitting them. Expect a bounce back and target his OVER.