Suns vs Nuggets. Joker vs KD. In desperate need of a ring, the stage is set for a clash between Titans as two teams advance to the Western Conference Finals.
Saturday’s round two series in Denver promises to be solid gold. Precious nuggets rolling along the crunchy Colorado Creek — and hotter than the sizzling Arizona sun.
Granted, the Suns haven’t won a chip yet, but they’ve won the Western Conference three times. Meanwhile, Gerald Ford was president when the Nuggets played their first game in the NBA, but he never made it to the Finals. even the Rocky Mountains Played in the World Series once.
On the flip side, at least the Nuggets never hosted a parade just to make it to the finals as an alimony. They crashed and burned in 1993.
The Suns and Nuggets have met four times since the 1981 season and have plenty of postseason history. Phoenix has the best series ever, 3-1, and most recently he swept Denver in the 2021 Conference Semifinals, making it all the way to the Finals, but then losing 6.
But the rivalry between these two proud western cities exists beyond NBA teams. The two cities are also home to sister weekly magazines. denver westward and Phoenix New Times — Founded in the 1970s, Even if the Phoenix outlet started first. Over our trash talk between his two newsrooms, we asked. Westward with Katie Cheshire new times Elias Weiss analyzed the series. Then we made a bet. More on this below.
mascot mania
Which iconic mascot is better?
Rocky of the Nuggets.
There may not be a mascot that is so loved Rockycame out on top in A survey of 1,500 basketball fansThe mountain lion hilariously interacts with fans and his backwards half-court shot is legendary. On April 25, he sank a shot on the first attempt when the Nuggets sent the Minnesota Timberwolves packing to reach this matchup against the Suns.
Ever since Rocky was born in 1990, Ken Solomon has been the man in the suit. I gave the torch to my son Drake in recent years. It’s a pretty unbeatable legacy. — Katie Cheshire
Go The Gorilla from Suns.
Go the Gorilla is a 3rd most intimidating mascot in the NBAThere are no gorillas roaming the Sonoran Desert.
James Overhouse, an avid Suns fan, sent a telegram to the Suns arena in 1980 with the song Henry Rojas. A break, a request he repeatedly fulfilled. As a result of his continued presence in the game, Rojas was offered the role of the official mascot of the Sons without a mascot for eleven years, in an unsuccessful attempt to dress the man up as a giant anthropomorphic sunflower. neither.
Since then, Go The Gorilla has become famous for his slapstick humor and athletic antics on and off the court. — Elias Weiss
Will the Nuggets and Suns win the series?
Six nuggets.
There’s no denying both of these teams have what it takes to run for a championship.The Suns are the favorites and the Nuggets are the top seed in the Western Conference. But this season, the Nuggets have yet to melt under the bright rays of the sun.
Sure, the Suns have Deandre Ayton, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul. But on March 31, he was without four of the five starters, including MVP Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Kentavius Caldwell-Pope, and Michael Porter Jr., all of whom were missing. Remember how they barely managed to get a win against a Nuggets team.
Aaron Gordon was the only Nuggets starter to play in that 100-93 game, and his Christmas night was Dunk at Sands Laundry Shamet Definitely the best dunk of the year. These teams will battle it out to the end, but the Nuggets are ready and on May 11, Footprints will beat Phoenix at center to come out on top. Katie Cheshire
Suns in Six.
According to the Las Vegas odds makers, they have a three-home game advantage and are underdogs by just two points in each game in the ball arena. It’s well within the margin of error, so it’s anyone’s series to claim.
If a trio of superstars, backed by former No. 1 overall pick Ayton, can steal one win on the road, Denver’s perpetually disappointed fans are done.
Let’s hope the dreaded Curse of the Sun doesn’t get in the way. — Elias Weiss
Murray vs. Booker promise sizzle
Jamal Murray. Enough said.
Nikola Jokic has done it — back-to-back MVP wins — but Murray is the playoff king. Murray knows exactly how to turn it on at key moments, and is unafraid of his Suns clutch-time counterpart Booker, blaming each of the 16 games he has faced Booker in his NBA career. He has won 14 games.
Murray has similar numbers against the Suns, beating them in 17 of their 20 meetings and averaging 21.1 points in those games. Murray did not play when the Nuggets and Suns faced off in his 2021 Western in his conference semifinals. He had torn his ACL two months before him.
He’s back and better than ever, averaging 27.2 points per game and never overwhelming the Nuggets again.
The sun may be the center of the universe, but when you think everything revolves around you, you could make the mistake of underestimating a hungry Nuggets team more than a 10-year-old trying to eat a happy meal. There is a nature. Even if the Suns find a way to stop Jokic, they have Murray, Porter, Gordon and actually good bench players.
But it’s up to Murray, and if the past is any indication, he’ll be leaving Phoenix with an even better performance. Katie Cheshire
Dbooks, of course.
Jokic is the current league MVP, but is the team’s only superstar. Phoenix has his three superstars in Booker, Durant and Paul.
In the Suns’ first-round loss to the Paul George-less Los Angeles Clippers, Booker became the second player in primetime to Michael Jordan to average 30 points, five assists, two steals and one block in the first four games. , recorded a true shot success rate of 65%. Postseason his series of games.
Book scored a whopping 47 on a double-double in Game 5 against Cripps. KD tallied his 31, Arizona’s hometown pride, Ayton double-double and he tallied 21. Just like the real sun in Phoenix, the heat can be brutal this time of year.
Unless you’ve read through the playoff books, he’ll continue to be a key figure in making a difference, wearing orange and purple. Even though I saved a lot of time for
On Friday, Durant became the third NBA player in history Lifetime contract with Nike, joins Jordan and LeBron James. Talk about a great company. — Elias Weiss
Which fans are influential?
Ball arena rocks.
Westward We don’t totally hate Phoenix, as we have two Sun Devils on staff. The Nuggets fanbase shows up even in games against the remnants of the league, and ball he rocks the arena. Perhaps it’s because of that sixth-man energy that the Nuggets have led him to a 34-7 record at home this season.
Just as the ball arena set the stage for epic on-court games, it was where the top beef was traded among fans when the Nuggets and Suns last met in the playoffs. A Nuggets fan who goes by the name of Marty and Suns fan Nick McKellar got into a fight. After the match broke down, McKellar declared “Suns in 4!”
This has made McKellar internet-famous as the ‘Suns in 4’ man, but in 2021, marty said Westward He was ready for a rematch. We can only hope that the two refrain from throwing actual punches if paths cross during this series. This is just one example of a typical Nuggets fan.
Ball Arena rocks(y) every night and is ready to help the Nuggets bring it to life and win their first title. Suns fans don’t stand a chance. — Katie Cheshire
This is ORNG.
The Phoenix Suns have a huge fan base and that number continues to grow. According to Hoop Social, the Suns have about 2.2 million fans. That’s about half of the total population living in Metro Phoenix. Denver has fewer followers, only he has 1.7 million.
It’s not just the four Suns who represent Planet Orange. Local artists Leslie Carrasco and Lalo Cota have sprinkled Sands-themed art on Arizona’s hiking trails and famous locations in downtown Phoenix.we Even if you paint the sidewalk for the Sans. Serg Carabeo, also known as “Father of Chug,” downs his beer every time the Suns win.
Once Mesa Community College’s basketball mascot, Mesa resident Edward Willekens shakes his pom-poms and dances at Suns’ home games. Rappers his Zanezor and Dann G are busy in the studio preparing a hometown playoff anthem, while “Shirtless Blake” is making his 2021 appearance on national television via his TNT, wearing a Suns shirt. I took off my hat and cheered loudly, swinging my body around.
Superfans Veronica Philpott, Paul Nicosia and Kevin Arnett haven’t missed a home game in years. They always wear Suns gear and claim to be the loudest fans in the building.
Perhaps most famously, ‘Mr. I can’t see. — Elias Weiss
Friendly Alternative Weekly Betting
Denver
We already ship 2.8 million acre feet of water from Arizona, Colorado River Every year, when the Suns win, Westward send new times A little more liquid — shimmer this time.
phoenix
Whether Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs agrees or not, no one is afraid to eat delicious homemade tamales.if denver wins new times send Westward Some of its best “illegal” treats.
That’s the contract.Share your best trash talk with us [email protected] and [email protected]Keep it classy and let the best team win!
