Phoenix Suns vs Denver Nuggets – 3 Things that will happen, 3 that may

One thing that the Nuggest Suns series does not lack is star power and high-volume scorers. When you consider the two-time reigning League MVP as the fourth-best scorer in the series, we should expect a lot of points, especially from the Suns’ two superstars.

Series Assurance 2 – Durant and Booker will average more than 60 points combined in the series

Although they did not play together as much as anyone would have liked, Booker (27.8) and Durant (29.1) averaged 56.9 points per game during the regular season. However, with the increased minutes and usage in the first round, the players averaged 65.6 points per night.

D-Book took the big jump, increasing almost 10 points per night to 37.2, while Durant hovered in place, with his average dropping down almost a point to 28.4 against the Clippers. It is unrealistic that Booker will continue to average over 37 points per game, although his increased minutes and volume should keep him over 30.

Likewise, Durant seems able to score whenever he wants, and he senses the Suns need it. With Denver tightening their defense and Monty Williams tightening his rotation, Phoenix will need that bit more from Durant, so do not be surprised if he averages more than 30 per game in the series.

With Durant and D-Book playing at a high level, 60 points per night is more or less a given.

Series Possibility 2 – Durant and Booker will average more than 70 combined points per game

Notwithstanding that the idea of Booker keeping his average over 37 points per game is unrealistic, given Booker’s current form and fire, anything is possible.

In reality, Booker and Durant combined for those 65.6 points per game against the Clippers, and Durant did not play that well. He shot okay and was smart with the basketball, but his play was far from the smooth, ultra-efficient play for which the Slim Reaper is renowned. As Durant gets further into game shape – he missed most of the last two months of the season – we should expect his game to follow suit.

Even better for the Suns is that as Durant’s game elevates, it creates more space and more opportunity for Booker to do his thing and vice versa. As a scoring machine, Booker and Durant can be a self-feeding engine, where one scoring, the other gets more chances. As a result, we should not be surprised to see them score a combined 70 a couple of times in the series – they did it X times against the Clippers – and maybe even average it.