A few pundits even picked the Nuggets to win that series. Nuggets fans are quick to frame that 2021 series as if they’d been decimated up and down the roster, but going 20-10 without Murray, including winning a playoff round and still having the league MVP in your lineup is not decimation. The Nuggets were without Jamal Murray (knee) in that one, though the Nuggets still came in with a 47-25 record (16-8 without Murray) and had beaten the Blazers in round one. Suns-Nuggets, Playoffs Head to Head: The Suns swept the Nuggets 4-0 in the second round of the 2021 Playoffs. With Jamal Murray in the lineup, the Nuggets are 20-18 in the playoffs with a 4-2 series record. However, they were missing their second best player in two of those playoff runs. They are 4-1 in the first round, 1-2 in the second round and 0-1 in the Conference Finals. Overall, they are 25-28 in the playoffs together with a 5-4 series record. Nuggets: In Denver, head coach Michael Malone and two-time MVP Nikola Jokic have been together for five straight playoff runs. They are 3-0 in the first round, 1-1 in the second round, 1-0 in the Conference Finals and 0-1 in the NBA Finals. Suns: In the three years the foursome of head coach Monty Williams, point guard Chris Paul, shooting guard Devin Booker and center Deandre Ayton have been together, the Suns are 25-17 in the playoffs with a 5-2 series record. These teams have a weird college-style schedule, playing Sat/Mon this weekend, then Fri/Sun the next week, with three full off days between Game 2 in Denver and Game 3 in Phoenix. The loser will, unfortunately, face a lot of questions and skepticism going forward.Īctual game time and national TV network is still to be determined, depending on the outcomes of other first round series that are still going. The Nuggets got there with Jokic-Murray-Malone in the 2020 Bubble, while the Suns got there with Booker-Paul-Williams in 2021. One of the Suns or Nuggets will survive and make the Conference Finals for the second time in their current iterations. Luckily, they got to face an injured Clippers team in round one as they worked out some kinks on offense and defense. Devin Booker (53 of 82), Chris Paul (59) and Kevin Durant (47, including 8 in Phoenix) didn’t even play enough games to qualify for regular season awards. The Suns got home court advantage in the first round despite winning only 45 games while surviving huge swaths of missed time by their best players. Only 5 times in the last 40 years has a 7th or 8th seed won a playoff round of any kind.

That’s how rare it is for low seeds to win. More recently, the Knicks made the Finals as an 8-seed in 1998-99. Per The Ringer, it’s been 34 years since a 6 and 7 seed both won their first round series in the same playoffs. We might see the 6th (Warriors, leading 3-2 over Kings) and 7th ( Lakers, leading 3-2 over Grizzlies) seeds win their first round series. Some teams, including the Suns, have gotten healthy at the right time. The Nuggets, for a change, have been pretty lucky on the injury front this season as were the 3rd seed Kings. The West has been riddled by injuries to many of the game’s biggest stars. This is the first time the Nuggets have won the top seed in the West, but it’s only the second-best record of the Jokic era. For the first time in Devin Booker’s career, he will start a playoff series on the road after starting off his first seven (6-1 record in Game 1s) in Phoenix.ĭenver won the top seed in the West this year with a 53-29 record (64% win rate), the same win rate that got them the 3rd seed in that 2021 Playoffs (that year was 47 wins on a 72-game schedule). This year, the tables are turned as the Nuggets are the top seed and the Suns are the underdog.

That year, the Suns had home court advantage, starting 2-0 on their home floor and finishing with 2-0 on Denver’s floor. Watch: Bally Sports Arizona, National: TBDĭraftKings Betting Line: Denver is favored by 2.5 points at home in G1Įver since the Phoenix Suns swept the Denver Nuggets two years ago, capped by a pair of wins on Denver’s home floor while reigning MVP Nikola Jokic got himself ejected amid egregious ‘Suns in 4!’ chants, the Nuggets and their fans have been waiting for vengeance. When: G1 is Saturday, April 29 in Denver. Where: Ball Arena, Denver, CO (G1,2, 5,7), Footprint Center, Phoenix, AZ (G3,4, 6) What: Round Two, Conference Semi-Finals, 2023 NBA Playoffs (best of seven)

Denver nuggets record 2020