WHO: Phoenix Suns (14-13) @ Denver Nuggets (14-12)

When: 8:00 p.m. Arizona time

Where: Ball Arena – Denver, Colorado

Regard: AZFamily, Suns Live

Hear: KMVP 98.7

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The holiday season is here, a time of family reunions, awkward get-togethers and, for many, the annual shift in exercise focus. This week marks the moment when people start to turn away from football and towards basketball. And somewhere between turkey, pie, and that one relative you forgot about, the casual fan will inevitably ask, “So how about those Phoenix Suns?”

What are you going to say?

I’ve had a few of these conversations before, and let me tell you, they’re nothing special. The casual fan knows that the Suns have Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. But they will recognize the expression on your face, the slumped shoulders and the tired sigh. Then you have to explain it to them.

My answer? “Just watch.” Take some time on vacation, turn on the TV and watch a Suns game. Then call me.

What will they see? Phoenix will face the Denver Nuggets in the next two games. The Nuggets, who have had their struggles this season (losing to the New Orleans Pelicans in overtime last night), still have the deadly connective tissue of Nikola Jokić. This is not yesterday’s championship team. Important supporting players are gone.

What’s left is a squad that leads the league in assists and is second in field goal percentage, but ranks last in three-point attempts and is mediocre on defense. They relied heavily on Jokić and called on the big man to lead them to victories.

But here’s the thing: Despite their adjustments, Denver is still connects. Jokić holds them together, which makes them dangerous. And your friends and family will see the exact opposite when looking at the suns. You will see a team that is broken defensive. A squad that rotates late, collapses under pressure and leaves shooters as wide open as the gaps on a Dixie Chicks album.

Sure, the Suns have an outstanding offense. But watching her defense efforts is like watching a slapstick comedy where no one remembers the script. It’s ridiculous, but not in a good way.

So when you get that call in a few weeks after your friends see “Phoenix,” laugh with them. Laugh at the absurdity of it all. That the most expensive squad in NBA history can’t even defend itself from a standing start.

Likely starters

Injury report

Suns

• Grayson Allen – OUT (Concussion Protocol)
• Bol Bol – OUT (left knee contusion)
• Devin Booker – OUT (left groin pain)
• Collin Gillespie – OUT (right ankle fracture)

Nuggets

• Jamal Murray – QUESTIONABLE (Right Ankle Sprain)
• Dario Saric – PROBABLY (left ankle sprain)
• Vlatko Cancar – OUT (left knee surgery)
• DaRon Holmes, II – OUT (right Achilles tendon)

Uniform matchup

God, these universities in Denver are disgusting.

What you should pay attention to

Battle. That would be nice, right? It’s an organization thing and maybe that’s why it’s missing from this team.

Did you see Orlando a few nights ago? This team is dealt one blow after another. Paolo Bachero? Get out of Franz Wagner? Out of. Yesterday we learned that Mo Wagner will be out for the rest of the season with a knee injury. They came out and helped against the Miami Heat. Until they didn’t.

I saw that and thought, ‘The Suns would never do it.’ Not this team.

It’s a neon sign that says “mentally weak.” A team so listless they’re practically sleepwalking. When disaster strikes, no one enters. No battle cry, no sand, no fire. What we’ve seen all season is a team that collapses under pressure, puts its head down and shuffles off the field as if it could be better somewhere else. Then they bombarded us with rehearsed, hollow quotes about how they “should have done that” or “could have prevented that.”

But let’s be honest: it’s not about what could have been. It’s about what’s missing. And what is missing is care. Effort. A pulse. I see it. You see it. They think we don’t. And that? That’s the most frustrating part of this lifeless group.

So yeah, I want to see a damn fight tonight. Because here’s the thing: you will trailing by 10 at some point in this game. This is a castle. It depends on what they do next. Will they assert themselves defensively, take action and turn the tide with courage, concentration and physicality? Or will they roll the ball to Kevin Durant in hopes he can drop 35+ and bail them out again?

If it’s the latter, it’s another L. Because offense can’t be our best defense. defense must be. And until this team gets that through their minds, they’ll continue to walk out the door with their tails between their legs, telling us to turn the ball over less or defend space better. Yes. No shit.

The key to a Suns win

I really don’t know. This team consists of so many Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that trying to predict their next move feels like flipping a coin in a hurricane. Key to victory? Score more points than the Nuggets? Sure, that’s a strategy. Even a solid one. But here’s the problem: With this Suns team, the strategy seems more like a suggestion, and the execution? A completely alien concept.

If there’s a game plan floating around somewhere, it’s either locked in a safe or gathering dust on a forgotten clipboard. The players? They look like they’re trying to free their way through a symphony, each note more disjointed than the last. It’s chaos disguised as basketball, and the only predictable thing about it is how unpredictable everything is.

Play randomly. Maybe we’ll get a few stops by chance. That is highly unlikely against a team with the Nuggets’ scoring prowess.

forecast

The Suns’ defense has more holes than the jersey they wear every night. They can’t stop anyone, not even a light breeze, let alone the nuggets. And speaking of Denver, they are already one of the most efficient scorers in the league. Sure, on paper they’re not exactly three-point snipers – but against the Suns? Paper doesn’t matter. Whatever your weakness becomes your superpower when you play Phoenix.

So, let’s put it now: The Nuggets, who average 30.5 three-point attempts per game, decide to audition for Splash Brothers 2.0 tonight. They lift 45 threes, deflate 23 of them, burn the suns, and hurl them directly into the celestial body for which they are named.

Nuggets 139, Suns 128