![]() ![]() “I think that was a really good first-round matchup for us,” Booker said Thursday. ![]() There’s an argument to be made that the Clippers were the best first-round opponent possible for Phoenix, not because of how likely it was to beat them but given their level of defensive versatility through a handful of concepts and a ton of physicality. But Denver will mix in much more capable perimeter defenders off the bench like Bruce Brown and Christian Braun, who we will cover more in our final preview. Gordon is Denver’s best starting defender, and if he’s face-guarding Durant 30 feet away at the hashmark, that leaves the Suns open to attacking Jokic, Murray and Porter in those 4-on-4 scenarios. Phoenix will still see some positives in doing that again. The problem there is the Suns didn’t even present the threat of Kevin Freaking Durant to Los Angeles, allowing the Clippers to not have to worry about Kevin Freaking Durant. Booker was in the middle of an absolute heater, and Phoenix was OK with playing 4-on-4, knowing Durant’s defender was never leaving him. When Phoenix was falling apart at the seams during Los Angeles’ 15-2 run in the fourth quarter of Game 5 on Tuesday, Durant spent seven straight possessions out of the play. The late-season adjustment of that is unsurprisingly proving to be difficult. He wasn’t used enough as a screener or a decoy within the movement nearly enough. Durant spent too many portions of games against the Los Angeles Clippers off the ball as a spacer. We’ll see if Paul still has that in him, and Phoenix has to extract some of that value out of him because he will be Denver’s pigeon on the other end.Įlsewhere, the Suns will be doing the Nuggets a huge favor if they have Durant featured in actions as much as they did in the first round. And if Paul is still capable of activating puppetmaster mode, everything else for Booker and Durant becomes exponentially easier - it also gets Deandre Ayton more involved offensively. Paul with the ball is when Phoenix’s offensive motion is the healthiest, and if it forces Denver to shift and recover, an average-ish defense will be pushed to its limits. This will be the base of what Phoenix wants to accomplish. DEN may need to rethink overextending his coverages & exposing the corners /9x7AWaKDsPĭenver pivoted to more of a drop on Paul and he roasted that as well. Jokic logged more distance on defense last night in 36 MP (1.17 miles) than in any game against POR, sans the 2OT thriller.Įasy to see why with possessions like this, where PHX cascades through actions. Two years ago, Paul mentally had those help defenders in a full nelson, and it was all at the expense of Jokic working harder through tons of actions. Denver often has Nikola Jokic come high on ball screens and it helps over on the backend to supplant that. Murray probably gets the first crack at Paul, and he will most likely require assistance. ![]() Even drawing the easiest assignment of the fifth starter does not mean Phoenix will let him just stand around. Porter has not made significant enough strides since and the Suns’ sights will be firmly on him again. Paul, in particular, mercilessly hunted him. And Porter was the pigeon of all pigeons in the 2021 series. Crowder taught us last playoffs that Phoenix calls a defensive weak link on the other team the “pigeon,” the defender they’ll go after as much as possible. Gordon had a case for an All-Star spot but his numbers faded after the break.) Denver acquired him in 2021 exactly for matchups like Durant, to make him uncomfortable on both ends with his athleticism and energy as a big, strong wing. (This series, by the way, is a gigantic one for Gordon. Aaron Gordon will spend time on Booker, too, but he’s got Durant to worry about. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will assuredly take Devin Booker, who he battled with well for the Los Angeles Lakers two postseasons ago. ![]()
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