Initial observations from the Denver Nuggets’ blowout elimination of the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 of their Western Conference playoff series.
1.You watching, Mark Jackson? Anybody else want to make an “honest mistake” with Nikola Jokic? The Joker doesn’t care about individual honors with two MVP awards on his resume already. While Jackson, the former NBA guard and ESPN analyst, went to Twitter to apologize for leaving Jokic off his NBA MVP ballot, the damage was already done. And after the Joker put up another playoff triple-double — 32 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists — on the Suns, it looked even more ignorant. Even Stephen A. Smith seemed lost for words. Having picked the Suns to win Game 6 during the pregame show — Jalen Rose went with Denver — the longtime ESPN personality appeared almost, dare we say it, humbled by halftime. For about a second. As the notion of a Nuggets-Lakers Western Conference final was mooted, Stephen A. declared Anthony Davis as Jokic’s “kryptonite.” Because, no matter what the scoreboard says, the narrative never changes with the coastal yokels.
2. Game ball to Braun. KCP did for the Nuggs’ offense early in Game 6 what MPJ did in Game 5. But let’s give a tip o’ the defensive cap to rookie Christian Braun. And to the Nuggets’ coaches who challenged him with a task that looked impossible a few days ago: Making Devin Booker work for it on his home floor. The pesky Kansas product didn’t just rise to the challenge — he exceeded it. Rather than give Booker space and time to bring the ball up and build up speed to outrun the Denver defense, as he did so often in Games 3 and 4, Braun harassed and poked and prodded at the Suns star for the length of the court. The extra pressure did the trick, as Booker missed six of his first eight shots and eight of his first 12 — a night-and-day difference from his dominance at the Footprint Center last week.
3. Ayton was missed after all. Phoenix fans and analysts shrugged off the loss of starting center Deandre Ayton before the game with a rib contusion, given his mercurial postseason performances this spring. It didn’t take long for those same fans and talking heads to realize how much of a loss that was. The Nuggets took advantage by limiting the Suns to a slew of one-shot possessions — defensive stops that also triggered the Denver break. Over the first half, the Nuggets had collected 20 defensive rebounds to just two offensive boards for the hosts; Denver had nabbed 24 rebounds overall to Phoenix’s 13; and the Western Conference’s top seed had outscored the hosts in the paint by a whopping 44-22 margin.
