Stephen A. Smith saw what every other NBA die-hard did while watching the Denver Nuggets dismantle the Phoenix Suns in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals. With Jamal Murray reaching his established playoff peak and the Nuggets confidently firing on all cylinders, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and company might be in trouble.

Before the New York Knicks and Miami Heat tipped off on Sunday morning, the ESPN personality issued a warning to the Suns about Murray and the Nuggets.

“Somebody got to say something so I'm gonna say it. The Phoenix Suns got their butts whipped last night, and the Denver Nuggets ain't playing,” Smith said. “Last time we saw Jamal Murray in the postseason, he was doing his thing dropping 40 on folks and the Nuggets were in the Conference Finals. I watched his postgame interview last night; he ain't joking around. They're not playing. They feel underestimated, disrespected, underappreciated. Denver is coming.”

Murray dropped 34 points, nine assists and six threes in the Nuggets' blowout win over Phoenix on Saturday night, harking back to his pre-injury postseason dominance in 2020. Denver advanced to the Western Conference Finals in the Orlando bubble before falling to the Los Angeles Lakers, Murray establishing himself as an elite scorer and playmaking under the playoff pressure cooker.

The Canadian star tore his ACL the following April, though, causing him to miss not just Denver's 2021 postseason run but the entirety of last season. With Murray leading the charge next to Nikola Jokic, who called his backcourt partner the Nuggets' “best player” after Game 1, Denver isn't only capable of beating the Suns, but winning its first title in franchise history.

“They're not playing,” Smith said of the Nuggets,”and they look better than Phoenix.”