Monty Williams deserves some heat, Jokic just 11 fouls in 5 games, more…

Monty Williams deserves some heat over the no-show from his team Tuesday night in Denver. Players play, coaches coach, but in the “we’re in this together,” shouldn’t there be some questioning about what happened in the first quarter? Denver scored 17 fast break points in the opening 12 minutes. 17! Durant wasn’t good on the offensive end early, or, was it what we all saw, Denver was ready, but the Suns weren’t?
Josh Okogie is in the starting lineup and finishes the night with 8 minutes of playing time?
When a team gets jumped on as the Nuggets did to the Suns, it’s easy to point fingers at the players, but the coach deserves some heat too. The usage of the bench isn’t a new topic around this version of the Suns. Yes, the head coach hit the right buttons in game four, but Tuesday night was an uninspired effort…

In an elimination game, having Chris Paul on the floor in some capacity is better than not. The idea that the Suns are a better team without the future Hall of Famer makes for filling radio segments and social, but doesn’t work in reality…

Torey Craigs’ flight must’ve landed right before the opening tip. It’s a haul to get through the Denver airport to downtown. Did he get to the building just in time for the final four minutes? In all seriousness, energy wasn’t present from the jump. It looked like the fuel the Suns used in the second quarter to take a 48-47 lead with 1:33 to go in the half sapped them of anything left in the tank. Craig has provided enthusiasm and energy in the past.

Landry Shamet played like,..well…Landry Shamet…

How does anyone not like Nikola Jokic? His pre-game moment of handing a basketball to Suns owner Mat Ishbia was fun and class. He’s putting on a masterclass against Ayton and Landale. Sure, there’s been the occasional moment where the Suns have gone at him, but they really haven’t made Jokic work on the defensive end. Ayton can get the ball two feet away from the bucket and he’ll put it on the floor and dribble out. Here’s the number that jumps out at me on Jokic. He’s been whistled for just 11 fouls in 193 minutes of this series. 11! That’s not the referees protecting him, it’s that the Suns aren’t attacking him. He’s more than comfortable on the defensive end.

I really don’t want Al McCoy’s 51 year run to end Thursday night with a loss…