The Denver Nuggets may hear the doubters, but they are not paying attention to them. The Phoenix Suns are the latest franchise whose attempt to build a super team went down in flames, as the Nuggets rolled into Phoenix for game six and then rolled over the Suns 125-100 to win their second round series and advance to the Western Conference Finals for the second time in four years. The game was not nearly as close as that score might suggest. Two-time regular season MVP Nikola Jokic had to settle for making the All-NBA Second Team this season, but he did not look like second team anything as he hit the Suns with 32 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds, extending to 11 his record for most career playoff triple doubles by a center (a mark held by Wilt Chamberlain--who had nine--for more than 50 years). Jamal Murray, whose availability was in doubt due to a non-COVID illness, added 26 points, four assists, and four rebounds. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope contributed 21 points, five rebounds, and strong defense.
Cameron Payne more than ably filled in for injured Phoenix point guard Chris Paul, scoring a team-high 31 points on 12-16 field goal shooting. However, Payne's elevation into the starting lineup plus the insertion of Jock Landale into the staring lineup in place of injured starting center Deandre Ayton left the Suns' already thin bench almost completely barren; the Suns' reserves scored 12 points on 6-14 field goal shooting. Landale scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Devin Booker finished with 12 points on 4-13 field goal shooting plus a team-high eight assists.
Kevin Durant, who struggled to score efficiently throughout the series, finished with 23 points on 8-19 field goal shooting. After the game, he declined an invitation to provide context for his performance or the team's performance, stating simply that he takes responsibility and that any context he attempts to provide will be dismissed as excuses. Say what you will about Durant's team-hopping, but Durant is a hard worker who plays the right way and makes no excuses. It is a shame that basketball fans did not get treated to multiple Golden State versus Oklahoma City playoff series with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson battling against Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but Durant's choice to flee from accepting that challenge does not diminish what he has accomplished during his career.
Remember all of the "experts" who termed the Suns the proverbial "team nobody wants to face" because of the Booker-Durant duo? Building a championship team is not as easy or instantaneous as making microwaved food for dinner, and the basketball gods have once again issued that message loudly and clearly. Maybe Booker and Durant will win a title together eventually, but it was not realistic to believe that a roster thrown together near the end of the season with no depth and no chemistry would survive four playoff rounds this year.
Remember all of the "experts" who mocked Deandre Ayton and insisted that the Suns should get rid of him? Those hot takes did not age well as the Suns sans Ayton lost the rebounding battle 41-29 while getting outscored in the paint 62-46.
I wonder if the MVP voters who chose Joel Embiid over Nikola Jokic still believe that Embiid is a better basketball player than Jokic and that Embiid has a greater impact on winning. Jokic has now earned his second conference finals appearance, while Embiid just lost at home in a closeout game and now needs a game seven win in Boston to make his first conference finals appearance.
Hubie Brown provided color commentary for ESPN, his first national TV appearance since New York's game three win versus Miami on May 6. It is not surprising that Brown, who led the Kentucky Colonels to the 1975 ABA title with a frontcourt featuring Hall of Famers Artis Gilmore and Dan Issel (and Hall of Fame guard Louie Dampier), loves Jokic: "He's a destroyer at both ends of the floor," Brown said before the game. "He's the total package, and he's leading his team."
Throughout the game, Brown marveled at Jokic's skills while also breaking down what makes him great. After yet another series of deft post moves resulted in a Jokic basket, Brown said, "That's what I like about his game. He slows down, and he has that baby hook." Brown added, "I enjoy watching him play any time from the foul line down. He has so many moves."
The Nuggets led 81-51 at halftime, breaking the record for most points in a half by a road team in the history of the NBA playoffs. Last year, the Dallas Mavericks humiliated the Suns 123-90 in game seven in Phoenix, and in that game the Suns also trailed by 30 at halftime.
Just before halftime, Brown summarized how the Nuggets dominated the Suns: "The defense for Denver has been outstanding" and Denver's "offense has been winning the paint." As the game--and the Suns' season--came to an end, Brown explained why Phoenix lost: "They cannot defend this team. They cannot defend their movement, and they cannot defend the painted area."
Regardless of how much some people talk about three point shooting, spacing, "gravity," and the relative efficiency advantages of shooting three pointers as opposed to posting up, timeless basketball fundamentals are still true and still matter: a team that plays excellent defense and controls the paint is best positioned to make a deep playoff run.
The highlight of this game for me--besides Jokic's all-around mastery and Brown's vivid descriptions of that mastery--happened during the fourth quarter when Brown and play by play announcer Dave Pasch paid tribute to 90 year old Phoenix broadcaster Al McCoy, who is retiring after this season. Pasch raved about the energy of both McCoy and Brown, who is 89 years old, and Pasch added that it is a treat for him to broadcast games alongside Brown. Brown and Pasch visited with McCoy before the game, and Pasch talked about how much he enjoyed listening to their stories from when they both joined the NBA more than 50 years ago. Pasch reminded younger viewers that Brown was an assistant coach with the 1974 Milwaukee team that reached the NBA Finals before serving as the head coach of the 1975 ABA champion Kentucky Colonels. Brown reminisced about his time with the Bucks--who had a young nucleus including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bob Dandridge surrounding veteran Oscar Robertson--and he mentioned that his Kentucky championship team had three Hall of Famers. Pasch added that Brown also coached Patrick Ewing and Bernard King with the New York Knicks in the 1980s and then had a successful run with the Memphis Grizzlies two decades later. It should be mentioned not only that Brown won the NBA Coach of the Year award in 1978 and 2004, but that he had top three finishes in 1979, 1980, and 1984.
Based on the scheduling of the remaining second round games and the likelihood that ESPN's main crew will do all of the Conference Finals games, this was probably Brown's last broadcast this season. I hope that he enjoys the offseason and comes back strong for the 2023-24 season!