Game preview: Phoenix Suns vs. Denver Nuggets

When: Monday, November 12, 2012, 7:00 PM local time (9:00 EST)

Where: US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ

Watch/Listen: TV: FSAZ, Radio: 620 KTAR

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Last Meeting:

Preseason - Suns defeated Nuggets 88-72 @ US Airways Center on October 26, 2012

Team Bios:

Denver Nuggets 4-3

Points per game: 99.0 (8^th) Points allowed: 96.3 (17^th)

The major acquisition for the Nuggets this offseason was Andre Iguodala who enters the game averaging 15.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game, but has struggled to find his touch from the field (42.0%). Look for him to try to get healthy against a Suns team that is mired near the bottom of the league in several defensive categories.

The remainder of the Nuggets squad is the usual suspects from last season, and by usual I mean the guys that have beaten the Suns brains in to the tune of six straight regular season wins by an average margin of victory of 15 points while scoring 120 points per game. Those guys.

The Nuggets have won four straight games after a start of 0-3. Their last two wins, on a B2B Friday and Saturday like the Suns just navigated, were by 20 at home against the Utah Jazz (104-84) and in overtime on the road against the Golden St. Warriors (107-101), both teams that have beaten the Suns in the early season.

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Phoenix Suns 3-4

Points per game: 96.4 (15^th) Points allowed: (103.4 (28^th)

The Suns just split a B2B which saw them overcome a historic 26 point deficit to win at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers (107-105) on Friday night just to be summarily pounded on the road by the Utah Jazz (94-81). The whole season to date has taken on this feast or famine dynamic with the Suns yo-yoing between impressive runs and humiliating, demoralizing sprees. There has been little middle ground for these Jekyll and Hyde Suns.

Among the things that have been consistent, excluding the last game, is the play of Marcin Gortat. He is currently tied for 5th in the league in rebounds and 1^st (numero uno) in blocked shots. Goran Dragic and Luis Scola have also been routinely solid, if not spectacular, but the rest of the roster has been shaky at best. Shannon Brown has provided intermittent firestorms and others have shown glimpses through their sporadic play, but for the most part it has been fairly parallel to the Suns' current record... subpar.

Expect Gortat to bounce back from the recurring debacle in Salt Lake City ready to take out his frustrations on the Nuggets. Expect a more ebullient effort after a B2B travel game on the tail end of a hard fought, emotional victory. Expect a fast-paced game with profuse points. Expect free tacos. Just don't expect an easy victory. Not from these Suns. There may be a paucity of those this season, at least until they figure things out (assuming they will).

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What to watch for:

Goran Dragic vs Ty Lawson - Dragic needs to win dominate this matchup. Across the board there aren't a whole lot of positional battles where the Suns get an obvious nod, so they need to make their hay where they can. Lawson had two 20+point/10+ assist games in the last four against the Suns, but now faces a more tenacious defender. Speaking of 20/10 games, this would be a felicitous time for Goran's first of the season.

Rebounds - The Nuggets are 1^st in the league in total rebounds (52.1) and 2^nd in rebounding differential (+9.0). The Suns are.... the Suns. Keeping this close would eliminate one of those areas we might point to after a loss saying, "Well, you just can't win getting dominated on the glass."

Pace - This should be a high scoring game. Hopefully it's not just one team. And hopefully if it is just one team... it's the Suns. My trepidation with respect to a frenetic, free-wheeling style is that the Suns have seemed incapable of stopping the bleeding at times which could get ugly against the Nuggets if they get going on all cylinders.

Shooting - While neither team has shot the ball particularly well, Nuggets .426 and Suns .423, the Nuggets have defended much better against their opponents. The Nuggets are 5^th in the league with a .417 fg % against while the Suns boast a more munificent mark of .461 (23^rd). In a game that promises to have more possessions than most, the importance of winning this battle is significant. Plus, the Suns need to get off the schnide here pretty soon, because they aren't going to win a ton of games this season if they keep up these ineffectual shooting numbers.

Bench - Shannon Brown has played well at times. That is all.

Power Outage - The Suns are 22^nd in the league in three point shooting (.303) while giving up a laughable .435 clip (29^th). The Nuggets come in 29^th in the league in three point shooting at .286. Something has to give... and these teams should both be ashamed of themselves. For additional reading on the Suns' shooting woes check out my write up on the Power Outage.

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Before the season I thought I would be able to gauge the pulse of the season using Beasley and Morris as a bellwether. So far those two have been mostly fetid garbage and while the Suns' record is 3-4, the three wins have come against teams with a combined record of 4-15. The training staff might want to check Beasley and Morris to see if they still have a pulse before tonight's game because the Suns will need something from these two in the next stretch of games that also includes Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami.

It's not getting any easier. Time to protect home court. The Suns can do this, right?