Around the Suns - A Go On My Suns! blog - Week 15
- Matt Elvy
- Feb 3
- 5 min read
Join us as we review the highs and lows of the last week for the Phoenix Suns, as well as previewing the week ahead.
Week 15: 26 January - 1 February
Week Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 30-20. 6th in the Western Conference.
Games Played and Results:
W - 106 - 102 Vs Brooklyn Nets
W - 114 - 96 Vs Detroit Pistons
W - 126 - 113 Vs Cleveland Cavaliers
L - 93 - 117 Vs LA Clippers
Centre of The Sun
I have an apology to make.
With each road bump we drive towards, I always think, "This is it, we're about to crash back down to Earth" and each time I am completely proven wrong by this team. So, Suns, I am sorry for underestimating you every couple of weeks or so (although I must say, our history has conditioned me to think that way).
We started the week with a pallet cleanser from the week before, with the Nets in town.
We all knew that Book and Green would be out, but a little before tip-off it was announced Collin would also be out with a wrist injury.
Next man up - Mark Williams.
The Suns made sure to find him all throughout the game and he responded with a season high 27 points. It's the 1st time he's topped 20+ points since Boxing Day.
The Suns still had to work for the win, as Brooklyn fought back to take a lead. As we fought back from that deficit, the teams actually started fighting. There would be multiple technicals handed out, in a game in which the refs wanted all the attention on them and not basketball.
The Pistons game was a lot less eventful on the kerfuffle front, but no less exciting, as Dillon scored a career high 40 points in the win. The Pistons are the best team in the East and we held them to 96 points and dropped 72 on them in the 1st half, which is the most they've allowed all season - all that without Book or Green!
Jalen returned for the next one against the Cavs. He got off to a slow start and took a nasty fall when going for a rebound, landing directly on his coccyx. He did look a bit limpy in his minutes after that, but hit a couple of gorgeous 3's in the 3rd quarter. He keeps teasing us with a sprinkling of what makes him special and I can't wait to see him back at full strength.
As for the game itself, the Suns basically bullied the Cavs from the jump. In just the 1st quarter we forced them into 8 turnovers, 5 of them from Mitchell! The Suns did a great job on him, holding him to 16 points - 13 under his season average.
Goody was excellent in this one, re-finding his 3-point stroke and coming off the bench with his usual defensive energy. He knocked down 5 3's finishing with 17 points.
Dillon was still in the zone after his 40-piece, leading us with 27 points on just 14 shots - one of his most efficient showings of the season.
Our only loss of the week came against the Clippers, who are a very different team since we played them at the start of the season.
Even though we were able to turn them over a lot, like usual, what they did was outrebound us, hugely. Overall they had 63 to our 35! This is partly because we missed a lot of shots, but in securing the rebounds, it stopped us getting our usual second chance points.
The Clippers did a good job slowing our key players down, with both Grayson and Dillon needing 20+ shots to get their 23 and 22 points.
Jordan Goodwin was great for us again for the 2nd game in a row, hitting 4 from downtown.
Overall an excellent week for the Suns.
Other Suns Stuff
All-Star Book
For the 5th time in his career, Devin Booker is an NBA All-Star. He was named as one of the reserves for the game.
When speaking to Eddie and K-Ray, Book gave the credit to his teammates, claiming that the team's record is part of the reason he was chosen, as he's had better statistical years before and not got chosen.
Villain Time
Dillon Brooks is your NBA Western Conference Player of the Week!
He carried us every game and had the best week of his career.
The award has come at a great time, with us hoping he gets chosen as an injury replacement for the All-Star game. This will certainly help his case for a spot.
Superstar Watch (Season stats):
Devin Booker - 25.4 Points, 4.0 Rebounds, 6.2 Assists, 0.9 Steals, 45.6 FG%, 31.3 3PT FG% & 3.3 Turnovers
Ad Break:
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Scorching Suns:
Dillon Brooks
What a week for Villain! Not only did he have a career high 40 against one of the best defences in the league, but his great play carried through all week, preceding it with 26 and following it up with 27.
His shooting numbers for the week are great and they include the 7 of 20 shooting against the Clippers.
His stats for the week:
28.8 Points, 4.5 Rebounds, 2.8 Assists, 1.0 Steal, 53.5 FG% & 54.5 3PT FG%
Struggling Suns:
Ryan Dunn
With Jalen on his comeback, minutes are going to need to be taken from someone and unfortunately if he continues to perform as he has recently, it looks like it could be Ryan losing those minutes.
His stats for the week:
3.0 Points, 2.3 Rebounds, 1.5 Assists, 1.5 Steals, 27.8 FG% & 25.0 3PT FG%
Stat Line(s) of the Week:
Dillon Brooks Vs Detroit Pistons
Game stat line:
40 Points, 8 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1 Steal, 1 Block, 13/22 FGs (59.1%) & 4/7 3PT FGs (57.1%)
Mark Williams Vs Brooklyn Nets
Game stat line:
27 Points, 6 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 1 Steal & 13/16 FGs (81.3%).
Rookie Watch (Season stats):
Khaman Maluach - 22 games, 0 starts
1.1 Points, 0.9 Rebounds, 0.1 Assists, 0.0 Steals, 0.4 Blocks, 40.0 FG%, 0.0 3PT FG% & 0.5 Turnovers
Rasheer Fleming - 25 games, 0 starts
2.4 Points, 1.3 Rebounds, 0.2 Assists, 0.2 Steals, 0.2 Blocks, 34.7 FG%, 22.0 3PT FG% & 0.2 Turnovers
Koby Brea - 2 games
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:
Prediction:
I'm not going to underestimate our team anymore. 3 wins are on their way.
Predictions League:
Here are the league standings after week 15.
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