The Phoenix Suns will try to avoid becoming victims of the Denver Nuggets’ rampage when these Western Conference rivals meet this Thursday for the third time this season. Will the Suns score their second victory in this regular-season series finale? Or, will the Nuggets continue their winning ways with another masterful performance at home?
Catch this game live on Thursday, March 28, 2024 at 10:00 AM, Manila time
Away: Phoenix Suns (42-30,19-16 Away)
Projected Starting Five:
- Devin Booker
- Bradley Beal (Questionable)
- Grayson Allen
- Kevin Durant
- Jusuf Nurkic (Questionable)
The Suns may be without two key weapons this Thursday against Denver, though, playing shorthanded isn’t exactly a new thing for Phoenix. Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic are labeled questionable to play in Mile High City because of finger and ankle injuries, respectively.
With Kevin Durant and Devin Booker still around, the Suns don’t really have much of an excuse to at least not keep in step with Denver, which they defeated earlier this month also in Colorado, 117-107. Booker was not even around when the Suns pulled off that win, but with Durant dropping 35 points and Grayson Allen tripping the Nuggets with 28 points on the strength of eight 3-pointers, the Suns pulled through with a victory against the defending champs.
Bettors have also cashed in more often than not in the last several visits of Suns to Denver; Phoenix is 4-1 against the spread in its last five regular season games at Ball Arena.
Durant and Booker combined for 65 points in the Suns’ last game, albeit in a 104-102 upset road loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday.
Home: Denver Nuggets (51-21, 29-6 Home)
Projected Starting Five:
- Jamal Murray (Questionable)
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
- Michael Porter Jr. (Probable)
- Aaron Gordon (Questionable)
- Nikola Jokic (Probable)
It is not just the Suns who are dealing with so much uncertainty when it comes to their roster health for this upcoming matchup. The Nuggets have Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, and even Nikola Jokic carrying varied degrees of ambiguity about their chances of playing against the Suns. For what it’s worth, the Nuggets crushed the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday 128-103 without the help of Murray (ankle) and Gordon (foot).
Denver won that game in large part because, well, they faced a lottery-bound Grizzlies squad and due to the big game of Jokic, who had 29 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists. Plus, Reggie Jackson shined as a starter, finishing with 15 points and eight assists while going 4/9 from the field.
There is a basis for Nuggets fans to believe that their team will humble the Suns even if Denver ends up missing Murray and Gordon again, as the reigning champs beat Phoenix back in December on the road, 119-111, with both players sidelined. Jokic had 21 points and 16 assists in that game, while Jackson put up 20 points on an efficient 8/11 shooting overall.
The Nuggets are undefeated in their last five home games and 4-1 ATS in those contests.
PREDICTIONS:
Spread: The Suns (+7.5) look good to cover the spread.
Over/Under: The total (226.5) looks good to hits the Under.
