The Denver Nuggets won four in a row, then lost three in a row, and now have won five in a row.

They get the chance tonight to extend their current winning streak to six games while they visit the Phoenix Suns. The Suns are one of the more disappointing teams this season. After losing in the NBA Finals in 2021, Phoenix’s new owner Matt Ishbia made drastic changes to the roster. He traded key role players Mikal Bridges & Cameron Johnson in a package for Kevin Durant and moved veteran point guard Chris Paul in a deal for Bradley Beal to make a big three with Devin Booker. Then the Suns traded starting center DeAndre Ayton for Jusuf Nurkic. All those moves amounted to losing to the Nuggets in 2023, a first round exit last year, and now this year Phoenix is fighting for a play-in spot. Meanwhile they’re on coach #3, Nurkic got salary dumped this week and Beal has been relegated to the bench. Both Durant and Beal’s names were very publicly bandied about at the deadline before Phoenix ultimately could not find a deal (or suitors) to help them walk back acquiring two aging and very expensive players. “Suns in four” feels like ages ago.

The Essentials

Who: Denver Nuggets (33-19) at Phoenix Suns (26-25)

When: 7PM MST

Where: The…you know what, Footprint seems like a decent company, good for them…Center. Phoenix, AZ.

How to watch/listen: Altitude TV (which is now available on Comcast), Altitude+. NBA League Pass for those not in the Nuggets market, Altitude Radio 92.5FM. Show up with a briefcase of cash and tell them you’re there to buy the arena naming rights and they’ll probably hear you out.

Rival blog: Bright Side of the Sun

The Matchup

PositionNuggetsSunsAdvantage
PGJamal MurrayTyus JonesNuggets
SGChristian BraunDevin BookerSuns
SFMichael Porter Jr.Kevin DurantSuns
PFAaron GordonRyan DunnNuggets
CNikola JokicNick RichardsNuggets
BenchJulian Strawther, DeAndre Jordan, Jalen Pickett, Hunter Tyson, Zeke NnajiBradley Beal, Cody Martin, Royce O’Neal, Mason Plumlee, Grayson AllenEven

Injury report*: Aaron Gordon – probable (calf), Jamal Murray – questionable (knee), Michael Porter Jr. – questionable (hamstring), Peyton Watson – out (knee), Russell Westbrook – out (hamstring), Vlatko Cancar – out (knee), DaRon Holmes II – out (achilles); Kevin Durant – questionable (ankle), Bradley Beal – questionable (toe). *The Suns injury report was not submitted at time of writing.

The Three Things

The thing to watch for: Nick Richards vs Nikola Jokic

Nurkic was a complete disaster for the Suns, there’s no two ways about it, and he’s never been very good at defending Nikola but he at least brought the beef to the matchup. Phoenix traded him (and a 1st round pick) and got back guards in return. Meanwhile, Richards has taken over the starting role ever since Phoenix traded for him a few weeks ago and is quietly having his best season as a pro. He’s also performed pretty well the last two times he’s went toe to toe with Nikola, holding him under twenty points and ten assists in both contests. Of course, two seasons ago Nikola dropped a 40 point, 27 rebound, 10 assist triple double on him so we’ll see how much this trend of Richards playing Joker strong lasts.

The thing to remember: Chemistry is, uh, not great in Phoenix

The trade deadline was rough for the Suns. Not only did they have to pay to get off Nurkic’s contract, but the rumors surrounding Durant and Beal were borne from reports that the Suns locker room is “toxic.” Now the deadline has passed and Durant and Beal know the Suns tried to move them (or at least entertained the idea with Durant). Hard to see how suddenly this becomes a kumbaya situation any time soon. Of course, Phoenix has no time to wait for cooler heads to prevail. They need to win games to avoid an outright disaster of a season. How do all those chemistry issues play out on a team who is on the second night of a back to back after playing overtime last night? I am fascinated to see how these guys work together on the court.

The thing to bet: Michael Porter Jr. over 20.5 points (-105)

Not much brain damage to come up with this one. In his last three games Porter has scored 30, 39 & 30. He is questionable so a chance this bet gets shuttered before the game even starts but if he’s a go tonight I’m expecting him to keep up his hot scoring. The injury report could potentially work in favor of this bet too with Jamal Murray questionable. If Jamal is out and Mike plays then this feels almost like free money with the way Mike has been carrying to scoring load lately. Add in it’s practically an even money bet and that’s good enough for me.