The playoffs have two false propositions: the Nuggets are too weak, and the Suns are really strong.
It turns out that the Nuggets won the first place in the West absolutely by strength, and the Suns eliminated the Clippers thanks to Leonard's injury. In the first game where the two teams met, the Suns were powerless and lost to the Nuggets, exposing three fatal flaws that the Nuggets magnified infinitely. The Nuggets' probability of eliminating the Suns to advance to the Western Conference Finals has increased from 59% to 77%, and the probability of reaching the Western Conference Finals is high.
Fatal Flaw 01
Ayton and the inside
Ayton has three classic scenes in the game, watching Jokic grab rebounds in a row and watch motionless outside the baseline; Ayton, who has a stronger strength and age, singled Jokic, barely shooting after not being able to move; Paul cleverly used the iconic big loop to create a foul successfully, but Ayton inexplicably fouled under the basket, Paul was speechless. Ayton's soft style stems from his desire to win on the court and lack of responsibility, which has nothing to do with physical talent. So the Suns were completely downwind in height, and the three-high lineup of Jokic + Porter Jr. + Aaron Gordon, as well as backup Braun, gave everything in front of Ayton, and the Suns defense collapsed completely.
Ayton and Biyombo were the Suns' interior pillars, grabbing three rebounds and 0 rebounds respectively in the half, while Jokic on the opposite side had 14 rebounds (7 offensive rebounds), Aaron Gordon, Jeff Green and Braun all had two offensive rebounds, and the Nuggets led 13-3 in offensive rebounds in the first half. So Durant began to grab rebounds inside, Ayton successfully helped the Nuggets consume Durant, and Durant was full of helplessness with 29 points and 14 rebounds. And the substitute Randale has an even worse defensive level. So Jokic grabbed 19 rebounds in the game, and Ayton + Biyombo + Randale 3-pointers totaled 9 rebounds.
Fatal Flaw 02
Insufficient ability to rotate the lineup
In the Suns' rotation, Shamet and Damion Lee are nerve knife type players, and Junbo's poor defensive performance did not play in the second half, Okogie and Craig did not find any scoring opportunities from the open space that Durant hit, and the Suns' bench scored 3 points in the first half. So the main lineup relies on Booker and Durant to play all the time, and the physical consumption is huge.
And the Nuggets are well aware of the Suns' problems, Jokic guarded the basket to prevent Ayton, let Paul block shots, and the 38-year-old Paul scored only 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting; And Booker, Durant and Ayton blocked, and whoever held the ball Jokic and the team hit whomever they could; Don't pinch Durant, if the shooting is hot, start pinch and cut off his passing route, allowing Durant to only have 1 assist in 7 turnovers. The Suns Paul and Ayton have proven incapable of fighting the Nuggets, and Durant and Booker are not physically limitless. Booker's youth and impatience have also been his problems, and the Nuggets have always had players harassing him to shoot, making him upset.
Fatal Flaw 03
Durant's two-star tactics are constrained
The Suns' small-ball play pursues an infinite defensive strategy, and Ayton can go to the three-point line at most to use his height to defend Murray and Pope, while using Durant's height to limit Jokic. But the Nuggets used the clip between Booker and Durant to cut off the passing route and prevent Jokic from being slow and defensively unable to keep up. As a result, Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Pope have the advantage of height and starting speed, and Jokic can also safely grab rebounds and attack to kill Ayton. And Ayton's softness was the key to the Suns' failure, and he switched defenses to Murray and Pope, and three three-pointers completely destroyed Ayton.
Jokic and Murray are the dual playmaker, their blocking passes cut the Suns defenseless, and the Suns are reluctant to pinch Jokic to prevent him from passing, so Jokic scored 9 points in the first quarter and only assisted 1. But Ayton's defense was too soft for Jokic to punish the Suns for scoring. The Suns counterattack used Booker and Ayton to block and remove the shun, and also allowed Booker to have 5 assists, and although Durant faced Gordon, even if the opponent was physically strong, but helplessly Durant shot better, scoring 15 points in the first quarter, and 2 blocks, shooting as high as 7 of 9. The Suns did take advantage of the Nuggets' defensive loopholes to play a good quarter, leading the Nuggets by one point in the first quarter.
But with Durant and Booker not present, Shamet and Biyombo couldn't defend Murray, Pope and Jokic, while Aaron Gordon punished the Suns with a 3-of-4 three-pointer, and the Nuggets also beat the Suns with a 9-of-17 three-pointer. Durant only had three minutes at halftime, and this consumption also laid the seeds for the collapse of the second half, and he scored only four points in the second quarter, and the Nuggets took advantage of the 17-point lead.
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