Denver vs Phoenix Prediction 8 March 2025

The home team has had quite mixed results - 3 wins in their last 5 games. Failures against Boston (103:110) and Milwaukee (112:121) highlighted significant difficulties in matchups with top teams. They manage to handle lower-level teams, like Sacramento (116:110), without any problems. The game against Phoenix is a kind of test. The Nuggets need to understand how ready they are for the playoffs, so Nikola Jokić and company will be giving their all. In many key components, they are league leaders. First and foremost, this refers to scoring efficiency (121, 3rd) and shooting percentage (50.7, 1st). Their three-point shots are quite good (38%), and they have a solid number of assists (31.1). On their home court, the hosts will offer a fast-paced basketball game in which these numbers can at least be matched. However, there are also games where Denver significantly surpasses all average values. This was the case against Detroit (134:119) and Indiana (125:116).

Phoenix does not have any significant losses either. For this reason, all the top scorers will take the court - Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and Kevin Durant. Undoubtedly, there is not a high level of understanding in these players' game. But isolation plays are enough - they are used to resolving situations on their own. This is reflected quite well in the statistics - three-pointers are made with 37.8% accuracy (4th). Yes, there are issues with assists (27.7). But considering that the Nuggets like to play fast, there should not be a heavy reliance on combination basketball. The leaders of the "Suns" will play as they like. However, despite all the positive aspects offensively, we cannot overlook the defensive problems. On average, Phoenix concedes 116 points. That's quite a lot. And when playing away against one of the contenders, this could lead to colossal problems. So the focus is on offense. Relying on an unexpected boost in defense is unrealistic. There is no one to contain Jokic.