The Suns are to face the Nuggets on Sunday in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals. One of the biggest challenge for Phoenix will be dealing with two-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
Devin Booker was asked about how his team plans to play against the best regular season team in the West.
“They’ve been one of the best teams in the NBA this year,” the Suns star said. “Obviously, Jamal [Murray] is back, a part of them that we haven’t seen much of. We got to be ready for that.
“Like you said, the head of the snake is [Nikola] Jokic. He makes everything easier for everybody else. They play fast in transition. They have great chemistry.”
Booker was then asked specifically about Jokic and how Deandre Ayton should embrace the challenge of guarding him.
“That’s step one just embracing [the challenge of guarding Jokic],” he said. “It’s a tough matchup. You can’t get too concerned when he makes tough shots.
“I think the biggest problem is when he has it going and he’s making sure that everybody else has it going too. And he has the ability to that because he draws that much attention. So, just try to make it tough on him, just make it hard on him on every possession.”
Jokic is averaging 26.2 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9 assists in 36.8 minutes per game in this year’s playoffs.
