On April 30, Beijing time, the Suns lost 107-125 to the Nuggets and lost G1 in the Western Conference semifinals. Durant played on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, contributing 29 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks, and Booker also had 27 points and 8 assists, but the Suns suffered an 18-point defeat. As the top favorite for the Western Conference championship, where did the Suns with Durant lose? In this issue of "Data Don't Lie", let's discuss this topic.
Defeat 1: Too few three-point shots
The Suns made 84 shots in the game, including only 23 three-point shots, accounting for 27.4%. This is still the data when the Suns trailed by more points in the halftime and added three-point shots in the second half. In the first half, the Suns made 40 shots, only 5 were three-point shots, and three-point shots accounted for 12.5%! As we all know, it is now the three-point era, and the Sun's mid-range shooting ability is powerful, but the mid-range shooting is also two points.
In contrast, the Nuggets made 101 shots and 37 three-point shots, accounting for 36.6%. In the end, the Nuggets made 16 three-pointers, the Suns only made 7 three-pointers, and the Suns lost by 27 points on three-pointers alone.
Take the first half, the Suns shot 55% from the field, 40% from three-point range, and 100% from the free-throw line. The result was the Suns trailing by 17 points at 51-68. They were blasted by their opponents. Data expert Zach Kram wrote at halftime: "The Nuggets hit nine three-pointers in the first half, the Suns made only five three-pointers, and cleantheglass showed that 71 percent of the Suns' shots were mid-range shots. 71%！ In 2023! ”
Defeat 2: The rebound was blown up by the opponent
In Slam Dunk, Akagi says to Sakuragi, "If you control the rebound, you control the whole game." In this G1 Western Conference semifinals, the Nuggets controlled the rebounding and had the last laugh. They grabbed 58 rebounds and the Suns only had 41 rebounds, and the gap between the two was too big!
Jokic was finishing Suns center Ayton in terms of grabbing the board. Jokic grabbed 19 rebounds, eight of which were frontcourt rebounds; For comparison, Ayton is 7 rebounds, two of which are frontcourt rebounds. The Suns grabbed the rebound, and Durant, who was mainly responsible for scoring, helped complete it, and KD had 14 rebounds, the highest on the team.
The scene in the game is quite heart-wrenching. With about 5 minutes left in the second quarter, Jokic frantically made up for the basket under the Suns, brushing up three frontcourt rebounds in one round. Ayton actually stood outside the bottom line and watched, only Durant was struggling with Jokic to fight for the rebound.
The Suns, who have lost control of rebounds, naturally do not shoot as many as the Nuggets, coupled with the lack of three-pointers, they naturally fall into passivity.
Defeat 3: Murray + Gordon outbreak
If you rely on Mr. Yo alone, the Nuggets are not the opponent of the Suns, and the key to winning in G1 is that Murray and Gordon both play well on offense and share the pressure of Mr. Yo. Murray posted 34 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists, and two years ago in the playoffs, the Nuggets were swept by the Suns, Murray missed the series due to injury, and now he made up for it with a good play.
Gordon scored 23 points, scoring a team-high 16 points in the first half and shooting 6-of-6 from the field. In three games against the Suns this season, Gordon averaged 22 points and 7 rebounds.
Defeat 4: The Suns make too many mistakes
The Suns had 16 turnovers in the game, while the Nuggets had just nine. They did a poor job of protecting the ball, with Durant alone making seven turnovers. The Nuggets lead 14-4 in steals.
In the final two meetings of the regular season, Malone lost most of his main players to the Suns, and now he also wants the Suns to lose sight of the Nuggets' path. The Nuggets' victory ended their previous record of losing seven consecutive playoff games to the Suns. Facing Durant's Suns, the Western Conference No. 1 finally showed its fangs in the playoffs.