The second round of the NBA playoffs starts tonight as the Phoenix Suns will face the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena later at 5:30 P.M. AZ time.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Phoenix Suns:
The Suns just wrapped up their last series on Tuesday against the Clippers in 5 games after a masterful performance from Devin Booker. He scored 47 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 10 assists. Kevin Durant who had 31 points in his own right acknowledged the game as “Spiritual”.
Devin Booker tonight:
47 PTS
8 REB
10 AST
2 STL
19-27 FG
4-7 3PLeading the playoffs in points. pic.twitter.com/tZn6PVjwEf
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 26, 2023
KD on Devin Booker's 47 point performance tonight:
"It was spiritual."#NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel pic.twitter.com/0FxNBv6wQp
— NBA (@NBA) April 26, 2023
Booker finished the series with 37 PPG, 6 APG, and 5 RPG on 60% shooting 47% from three. He was sensational throughout and carried the Suns in many of the close-score games throughout that series.
Durant finished with 28 PPG, 8 RPG, and 6.2 APG on 52% shooting 46% from three. He and Booker have so far been the best duo in the NBA playoffs with more to show in this upcoming series against the Nuggets.
Denver Nuggets:
The Nuggets in a similar fashion wrapped up their first-round series against the Timberwolves on Saturday. All-star center Nikola Jokic in that series averaged 26 PPG, 12 RPG, and 9 APG on 49% shooting and 50% from three.
Jamal Murray on the other hand returned to dominance that we haven’t seen since his pre-injury bubble run season in 2020. He averaged 27 PPG, 6 APG, and 6 RPG on 47% shooting and 43% from three.
Jamal Murray has more 40-point playoff games than
Devin Booker
Donovan Mitchell
Damian Lillard
Carmelo Anthony
Oscar Robertson
Karl Malone
Alex English
Kyrie Irving
Paul Pierce
DeMar DeRozan
Reggie Miller
Tim Duncan
Magic JohnsonElite playoff riser. pic.twitter.com/5SfdmwKFNT
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 20, 2023
The Nuggets are currently the #1 seed in the western conference and this is the healthiest the team has ever been since the Bubble year in 2020 during the pandemic. It should be a very fun back-and-forth series between the two squads. Here are the odds for tonight’s game between the two teams.
Odds For Tonight’s Game:
Spread: Nuggets favored at -2.5
Total (O/U): 225
Moneyline: Suns +120 vs. Nuggets -140
My prediction for tonight’s game is that the Nuggets take game 1 in this best-of-seven series as they win by a final score of 121-119. It’s going to be a close back-and-forth game but I expect Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic to step up in a big way.
Kevin Durant will have a huge game but the Nuggets bench will outperform the Suns bench in this game which will lead to them having the edge tonight. The game will air on TNT in what should be an exciting match.
