Denver Nuggets vs Phoenix Suns series odds and preview

Round 2: Suns vs. Nuggets series

The number one seeded Denver Nuggets will go head to head with the Phoenix Suns in the second round of the NBA playoffs. Game one of the Nuggets vs Suns series will be played in Denver on April 29. The Suns are favoured to win the series on NBA betting sites and are a -152 favourite on 888sport. The Nuggets are underdogs at +110 odds. The Nuggets could be the second number one seed to fall before the conference finals. The last time both number one seeds fell short of the conference finals was in 2021.

The Nuggets vs Suns series will feature two of the best players in the NBA, two-time finals MVP Kevin Durant and reigning two-time regular season MVP Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets were swept by the Suns during the 2021 playoffs. The Nuggets roster has changed slightly since then, adding Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Jamal Murray didn’t play in their 2021 series, but will be available to play against the Suns this year.

Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns are favoured to win the NBA’s Western Conference because they added Kevin Durant to their team, it’s almost as simple as that. Yes, the Suns almost won a championship without Durant, but they have not won a championship since and traded Cameron Johnson and Mikal Bridges to acquire Durant for a reason. The Suns have lost one game, to the Los Angeles Clippers in round one, with Durant in the lineup.

The Suns are a difficult team to analyze because the team hasn’t played a lot of games with Durant and the Clippers didn’t have Kawhi Leonard and Paul George for most of their first round series. Although the Suns have only lost one game with Durant, they haven’t been unbeatable. There are a couple of big questions. Will the Suns stay healthy? And have they played enough basketball together to beat the better teams in the NBA?

Denver Nuggets

The number one seeded Nuggets are heading into this series against the Suns as the underdogs. The Nuggets have not enjoyed much playoff success recently outside of the bubble season in 2020. To be fair, this is the first time the Nuggets have Jamal Murray on the court for the playoffs since then. Murray is currently ninth in playoff points per game with 27.4 ppg and is tied for 12th in assists per game with 6.4 apg. Murray played in 65 games during the regular season.

The Nuggets are -2.5 favourites to win game one of the series in Denver on 888sport. This could be Nikola Jokic’s opportunity to solidify himself as an all-time great player. Jokic played the last two seasons without Murray, and now Denver’s key players are available for the playoff run. The Nuggets should have an advantage because they have played with Jokic, Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Michael Porter Jr. much more than the Suns have played with Durant.