Around the Suns - A Go On My Suns! blog - Week 10

Join us as we review the highs and lows of the last week, as well as previewing the week ahead.

Week 10: 22-28 December

Week Record: 3-0

Overall Record: 18-13. 7th in the Western Conference.

Games Played and Results:

W - 132 - 108 Vs LA Lakers

W - 115 - 108 Vs New Orleans Pelicans

W - 123 - 114 Vs New Orleans Pelicans

Centre of The Sun

The Suns have won 3 games in a row!

After surviving the gauntlet that was the schedule throughout December and end of November, the Suns are rolling. I say surviving, but the Suns more than impressed in those games, going .500 across all those games. The only non-Playoff team we played was the Kings.

For the second time in 3 meetings, we blew out the Lakers. They didn't have Luka, but the Suns' effort and hustle would have been too much for them even if he was available.

Unlike our meeting with them a week earlier where shenanigans took centre stage, this time was a lot more tame.

The Suns were so in control by the 4th that all starters, bar Gillespie, rested the whole quarter, something I'm sure they welcomed after all the close games or blowout losses they'd had over the previous few weeks.

The win was a total team effort with all starters, plus Bouyea off the bench, scoring in double-figures.

After the Christmas break they Suns headed to the Big Easy for back-to-back games with the Pelicans. They have one of the worst records in the league, but have recently started putting some good games together. They also always seem to step up against the Suns, ever since our Playoff match-ups from 3 and 4 years ago. The Pelicans' problem though, is one Devin Booker also rather enjoys playing in New Orleans, where he holds the arena scoring record.

Once again it was total team effort, as the Pelicans kept it close all game and getting a 5 point lead in the 4th. Book and Williams had other ideas however, as they combined for 22 points in the quarter to put the Pels away.

The Suns aided the Pels, having their worst 3-point shooting performance of the year, hitting only 8 of their 40 attempts.

Book finished with 30 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, while Mark had his first 20 & 10 game since November, with 24 Points and 13 rebounds.

Our 2nd go round with the Pelicans was a fight, literally as Alvarado decided to take a couple of swings at Williams early in the 3rd quarter, resulting in them both getting ejected. It was a shame for Mark, as he was playing in his first back-to-back game of the season, albeit off the bench.

Before the "fight" Mark was on track for another big night, in only 10 minutes, he already had 8 offensive rebounds and 10 points.

In the 1st half, Collin was unstoppable from 3, shooting 5 for 5. And these shots were not open catch and shoots, he had a couple off the dribble and another from the sponsor logo. He did cool off in the 2nd half, but that's when Goodwin, Bouyea and O'Neale stepped up. They combined to hit 6 of 7 from 3 in the half,

Goodwin did his damage in the 3rd, scoring 10 points, Bouyea scored 10 in the 4th and O'Neale hit a big 3 in each quarter.

Overall, a good week. The team did have to deal with questionable refing in every game and things got sloppy at points in the Pelicans games, with us having 18 and 17 turnovers in each game - both more than New Orleans. But, the team leant into their foundations, worked hard and pulled out the wins.

Other Suns Stuff

Mark Williams Suspended

After being attacked by Alvarado, Mark has been handed a 1 game suspension. I think the NBA make players serve suspensions straight away, which means he'll miss the Wizards game, which is quite fortunate for the team.

All-Star Voting

The 1st round of ballots are in and Book is 15th in the West.

For me, the fan voting is a waste of time, as it just goes to the players on popular teams or players that used to be on popular teams.

Have a look at the list and see what you think.

Superstar Watch (Season stats):

Devin Booker - 25.4 Points, 4.2 Rebounds, 6.5 Assists, 1.0 Steals, 45.9 FG%, 30.1 3PT FG% & 3.5 Turnovers

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Scorching Suns:

Collin Gillespie

Collin has got to the point, for me, where I think every shot he takes is going to go in. It's crazy to think that he has less than 90 games under his belt, because to look at his poise and play, you would think he was a 5-year vet.

This week he's started in place of Grayson Allen and he's making a case that he should continue to, even when Grayson is back. He's been on fire from 3 and put together the most assists he's ever had over a 3-game stretch with 24.

His stats for the week:

16.3 Points, 4.7 Rebounds, 8.0 Assists, 2.0 Steals, 47.4 FG% & 52.0 3PT FG%

Oso Ighodaro

Oso put together his most complete week of his career. He was very good in all 3 games this week on both ends of the floor.

It's been highlighted by not missing a shot all week, a 10 rebound game and a couple of big dunks.

His stats for the week:

6.3 Points, 6.0 Rebounds, 2.7 Assists, 0.7 Blocks & 100 FG%

Struggling Suns:

Jordan Goodwin

Jordan's hustle never stops and he's only here because of his shooting percentages.

His stats for the week:

9.3 Points, 5.3 Rebounds, 3.0 Assists, 1.3 Steals, 32.1 FG% & 22.2 3PT FG%

Stat Line(s) of the Week:

Mark Williams Vs New Orleans Pelicans (Game 1)

The Pelicans had no one that could stop Mark. He was especially good in the 4th quarter, where his activity let to 4 trips to the free throw line and 2 for 2 from the field for 10 points.

Game stat line:

24 Points, 13 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 2 Steals, 1 Block & 9/13 FGs (69.2%)

Jamaree Bouyea Vs New Orleans Pelicans (Game 2)

He's been the definition of a spark plug off the bench and this game was one of his best performances this season.

Game stat line:

12 Points, 3 Rebounds, 5/6 FGs (83.3%) & 2/2 3PT FGs (100%)

Dillon Brooks Vs LA Lakers

I'm just putting this here because of how rare a stat line like this is.

Game stat line:

25 Points, 0 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Blocks, 10/15 FGs (66.7%) & 3/6 3PT FGs (50.0%)

Rookie Watch (Season stats):

Khaman Maluach - 13 games, 0 starts

1.5 Points, 1.0 Rebounds, 0.2 Assists, 0.0 Steals, 0.4 Blocks, 37.5 FG%, 0.0 3PT FG% & 0.4 Turnovers

Rasheer Fleming - 16 games, 0 starts

3.1 Points, 1.1 Rebounds, 0.2 Assists, 0.3 Steals, 0.2 Blocks, 37.5 FG%, 21.4 3PT FG% & 0.2 Turnovers

Koby Brea - 2 game

2.0 Points, 0.5 Rebounds, 1.0 Assists, 0.0 Steals, 0.0 Blocks, 33.3 FG%, 0.0 3PT FG% & 0.0 Turnovers

Upcoming Games:

The Suns head out East for the first time this season, as they visit the Wizards and Cavaliers, before returning home to take on the Kings, then Thunder.

The Wizards are very young and learning and that's reflected in their record. It should be a win for us.

The Cavs have lost some of their edge from last year. I wonder why? I think they have a Jordan Ott problem. They are still dangerous though, especially Mitchell, who can go off for 30 or 40 on any given night. They're currently in 8th and are in a tight race for 6th.

The Kings are struggling and have only won 3 games in December. They're missing Sabonis and LaVine, so are being led by the aging DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook.

Last up is the Thunder. Not much to say here, they've been basically unstoppable, unless you have a spur across your chest. Last game against us, they completely exposed us. My hope is that we'll have Grayson back for this one, to give us the extra creativity we missed against them before.

Prediction:

It should be another good week for us and I think we'll only lose to the Thunder.

Predictions League:

Here are the league standings after week 10.

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