CJ McCollum Explains Why The Suns Will Beat The Nuggets

CJ McCollum believes the Suns will beat the Nuggets in six games in the Western Conference Semifinals.

Apr 30, 2023

3 Min Read

Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Conference Semifinals commence with a heavyweight clash between the top-seeded Denver Nuggets and the Phoenix Suns.

There is a whole lot of star power on display and CJ McCollum is backing the two big guns on the Suns to lead them to victory.

“Book (Devin Booker) was great (against the Clippers), he’s an elite player,” McCollum said on his podcast. “He’s playing like a top-five player in the league and they still got KD (Kevin Durant). They still got a guy that can finish the game, if they need him to finish the game, they haven’t needed him to finish the game yet, that’s the tough part. Single side tag roller with him in the corner, how do you guard it?”

(starts at 46:18 mark):

McCollum has the Suns winning the series in six, with the Nuggets only winning Games 1 and 3. Devin Booker has been phenomenal in these playoffs as McCollum stated, with Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue admitting they had no answer for him. He averaged 37.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 6.4 APG, 2.6 SPG, and 1.0 BPG against the Clippers, with Kevin Durant taking a bit of a backseat.

Durant still averaged 28.4 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 6.2 APG, 1.0 SPG, and 1.0 BPG in the series and if the Nuggets are to get past the Suns, they’ll have to find a way to slow these two down. They’ll also be banking on their superior bench giving them an edge in the minutes that Durant and Booker aren’t on the court.

Nikola Jokic Thinks The Suns Are The Favorites To Win The Title

The Nuggets finished with the best record in the Western Conference at 53-29 but are still not favored in the series. Head coach Michael Malone said he wasn’t bothered by it and added that they know what they’re capable of. Nikola Jokic is also confident in the Nuggets but stated that the Suns are probably the favorites to win the championship.

Any team that has Durant on it would be a serious contender for the title but there are certainly some issues with this Suns team, like their bench. It would hardly be a surprise if the more well-rounded Nuggets come out on top in this one.

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ByGautam Varier

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Gautam Varier is a staff writer and columnist for Fadeaway World from Mumbai, India. He graduated from Symbiosis International University with a Master of Business specializing in Sports Management in 2020. This educational achievement enables Gautam to apply sophisticated analytical techniques to his incisive coverage of basketball, blending business acumen with sports knowledge.Before joining Fadeaway World in 2022, Gautam honed his journalistic skills at Sportskeeda and SportsKPI, where he covered a range of sports topics with an emphasis on basketball. His passion for the sport was ignited after witnessing the high-octane offense of the Steve Nash-led Phoenix Suns. Among the Suns, Shawn Marion stood out to Gautam as an all-time underrated NBA player. Marion’s versatility as a defender and his rebounding prowess, despite being just 6’7”, impressed Gautam immensely. He admired Marion’s finishing ability at the rim and his shooting, despite an unconventional jump shot, believing that Marion’s skill set would have been even more appreciated in today’s NBA.This transformative experience not only deepened his love for basketball but also shaped his approach to sports writing, enabling him to connect with readers through vivid storytelling and insightful analysis.