Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams has discussed a potential change in role for Kevin Durant in their win-or-go-home Game 6 with the Denver Nuggets.
Deandre Ayton will miss the pivotal clash as a result of a rib contusion, leaving a hole in the center position for the Suns. Jock Landale is one player who could potentially fill the void, but Williams has also raised the possibility of playing Durant at the five.
When asked about the prospect of playing the 6'10” Durant there, Williams said, “You have to put everything on the table…It's a lineup that can be effective, so we'll have to see. But if that opportunity presents itself we'll look at that.”
The Nuggets, of course, have a pretty handy center of their own in two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who is averaging a casual 35 points, 13.8 rebounds and 10.0 assists per game over the first five games of the series. Defensively, that makes the Suns number five position fairly significant, but conversely it could provide a matchup advantage for them at the other end of the floor if the at-times heavy-footed Jokic is forced to defend Durant away from the basket with any sort of regularity.
With Ayton out, the Suns have something of a dearth of offensive firepower with the notable exception of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, meaning those two will be very strongly leaned upon to both score and create buckets, as they have been all series. The ever-reliable Durant has been wayward by his lofty standards at times, shooting just under 46% from the floor having shot close to 56% throughout the course of the regular season. Whether he plays at the five or the four – or, as is most likely, a combination of the two – he will be one of the deciding factors in the outcome of both Game 6, and the series.
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