Scorching Suns and Crumbling Nuggets

Throughout this season, I've had a tendency to underestimate the Suns and overestimate the Nuggets. It's my own personal biases influencing my skewed perceptions and now that the Western Conference playoff race is getting realer than real, it's becoming clear that the Suns are capable of catching fire in the playoffs and the Nuggets maybe aren't quite as solid as I had thought. Awful puns, I know.

Ever since Shaq arrived in Phoenix, my interest in the Suns has waned. I enjoyed them during the Seven Seconds or Less Era, but the arrival of Shaq killed that whole movement. Even though they've made a return to that style, it just hasn't felt the same since that Steve Kerr misstep. Mike D'Antoni's departure also made it feel like the end of an era. After missing the playoffs last season, I anticipated the Suns to fade away and eventually have to start over, but now that Steve Nash is having fun again (read: Shaq was traded) and Amare Stoudemire is playing for a contract (according to Amare, my saying this makes me a retard), the Suns are still a viable threat. I still don't expect them to go any further than the second round, but I'm not nearly as ready to write them off now as I have been throughout the season. They're currently on a 9-game winning streak that has them hot on the heels of the Jazz and Mavericks, and they have a good chance to continue to extend their streak.

I enjoy watching the Nuggets and they're often touted as the team in the West most capable of knocking off the Lakers. Naturally, I bought into the hype. Perennial teams in the Finals have always worn on me, so I just have to delude myself into thinking the Nuggets can make it out of the West. Now that the Mavs have Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood, they've started to gain favor as the Lakers' biggest threat. I'd much rather see the Nuggets do the impossible, so I haven't given up hope on them yet. With coach George Karl absent while being treated for throat cancer and Kenyon Martin sidelined with a knee injury, the Nuggets have had to face adversity. Without Karl's leadership and Martin's defensive presence, they have struggled, losing five of their last six games. Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony have been shooting terribly from the floor and Denver hasn't been able to get it done against both good and bad teams. This tough run has seen them slip all the way to the 5th seed after having held onto the 2nd throughout most of the season.

Despite my realization that the Suns are still pretty damn good and the Nuggets are a precarious bunch, I still like Denver's chances of making more noise in the playoffs. I think both teams biggest weakness is their inability to control games defensively, but if Kenyon Martin can make a healthy return, I have a bit more faith in the Nuggets being able to overcome that chink in their armor.