Chris Paul is back! After injuring his right shoulder in game one against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round, many people thought he would be out.
Paul instead played through the pain, even though at first, his injury clearly impacted his performance.
Fast-forward to the second round. The Phoenix Suns prepare to take on the soon to be announced MVP, Nikola Jokić (he’s now been officially named MVP), and his Denver Nuggets.
The big questions were, can the Suns duplicate their play over the past three games against the Lakers? And can Chris Paul get back to his normal self?
Chris Paul has certainly shown the basketball world that his shoulder is fine by playing like he had pre-injury.
After 21 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds, and 1 turnover performance in game one, Paul followed up in game two by scoring 17, dishing out 15 assists, grabbing 5 rebounds while not committing a single turnover.
Paul’s performance of at least 15 points, 15 assists, with 0 turnovers was his record third such playoff game in his career. Other than Paul, this type of performance has only happened four times in the NBA playoffs.
The other players have also kept up their high-intensity play, which is a big reason why the Suns lead the Nuggets 2-0 in the series.
For the Denver Nuggets, they need to play with more enthusiasm. In game three, they should be more pumped and ready to play.
First, they’ll be home, in front of their fans, which can always help a team out, especially the role players.
Also, before the game, Nikola Jokić will be presented with his MVP trophy.
This should certainly give Jokić, his teammates, and the fans that extra juice that should give them a great chance at winning the game.
The Nuggets need more effort from their role players. The loss of Jamal Murray has been more visible in the first two games of this series than it has since his injury.
In last year’s bubble playoffs, Murray had two games of 50. So, not having him out there, is definitely a blow to the Nuggets offense.
Will the Nuggets role players step up tonight in game three? Or will the sun rise over Denver, leaving with a commanding 3-0 series lead?
Find out tonight by watching the game. It starts at 10:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.
Check out our Shop!
Follow us on Instagram!
Follow us on Twitter!