The Phoenix Suns didn't win the second-most games in the NBA this season by accident. In spite of their youth and inexperience, they're a legitimate title contender, two wins away from advancing past the Denver Nuggets and reaching the Western Conference finals.
But is JR convinced that the two-seeded Suns have what it takes to reach the Finals for the first time since 1993? He shared his answer during Thursday's edition of the JR SportBrief show.
"If the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers beat the hell out of each other, I think the Suns will be there waiting on the other side to potentially run them out of the building," JR said. "And this is good for Chris Paul. Because I think if he can go to the NBA Finals, I think if Chris Paul can go out there and compete, people will get off Chris Paul's back. I think people will actually give Chris Paul a break. People won't yell at him, 'You've never reached the Finals, you've always gotten close but you've never gotten far enough.'
"Everybody knows about Chris Paul the point guard -- Chris Paul is a great shooter. He is an assassin in crunch time. Chris Paul will knock down a J right in front of your face from three, from mid-range, and swish it through like there's no problem and no tomorrow. And when you think about the playoffs, that's exactly what you need... The Phoenix Suns, they've got two of [those players]: Chris Paul and Devin Booker. If I take a look at the Utah Jazz, I think they have one of them: Donovan Mitchell. If I'm looking at the Clippers, they aren't that deep of a team. They appear deep, they haven't played like it.
"But the Clippers, who the hell are you legitimately going to rely on, besides Kawhi Leonard? And to just hope that Paul George shows up to hit a big shot, something that he hasn't done in his career? He's had a whole lot more failures than successes. I think all of these reasons bode well for the Phoenix Suns to actually go back to the NBA Finals. It's been a long time. They're not a joke, they're legit contenders."
Game 3 of the best-of-seven series will take place on Friday night in Denver, with tipoff scheduled for 10 p.m. ET. According to FiveThirtyEight projections, the Suns currently have an 87-percent chance of reaching the West Finals for the first time since 2010.
JR's complete thoughts on the Suns-Nuggets series can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the JR SportBrief show on Twitter @JRSportBrief and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.