The Phoenix Suns play host to the Denver Nuggets at Footprint Center on Wednesday.

Denver continues to be a better team than everyone expects. They journeyed their way to the Western Conference semi's last season after getting to the Western Conference Finals in the year prior. Last year's run might have been even more impressive, doing that damage without Jamal Murray. The star point guard suffered an ACL tear last season, and there's some hope that he'll be ready by January or March. The Nuggets surprisingly didn't go out and sign someone in his absence, leaning on the Facundo Campazzo and Monte Morris duo once again. It's all about Nikola Jokic, though, with the big man earning Denver's first-ever MVP. He's truly developed into one of the best players in basketball, and it's crazy to see how dynamic he's become from the center position.

The Suns were the biggest surprise in the NBA last season and fell just a few games shy of becoming NBA Champions. Getting all the way to the Finals is an excellent testament to how much this team has grown, riding Chris Paul's leadership to that unlikely spot. They also got some significant improvements from Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton, making this one of the favorites this year. Many people believe that it was a fluke, though, but a win against a formidable Denver team could give them the confidence to continue growing with this impressive core. Like Denver, they didn't do much in the offseason, and it'll be interesting to see if that hurts or helps them going forward.

Denver won the season series against Phoenix last year, winning two of the three games in overtime. The Suns won when it mattered most, though, sweeping the Nuggets in the Western Conference Semis.