Around the Suns - A Go On My Suns! blog - Week 9

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

Week 9: 15-21 December

Week Record: 1-1

Overall Record: 15-13. 7th in the Western Conference.

Games Played and Results:

W - 99 - 98 Vs Golden State Warriors

L - 116 - 119 Vs Golden State Warriors

Centre of The Sun

Who would have thought that going into Christmas week, the Suns would be above .500 and be 7th in the West?!

We're nearly at the end of the wild gauntlet we've been on since the end of November, with the Lakers on Tuesday before 2 games against the Pelicans.

This week we faced the Warriors twice. The Warriors led for most of our 1st match-up building a 14 point lead in the 3rd, but as we know the Suns never give up and fought back in the 4th. Jordan Goodwin supplied the hustle, as did Gillespie. Collin scored 9 in the quarter to back up Booker's 10.

Overall it was a sloppy game for both teams, it just happened to be that the Suns were able to capitalise on the Warriors' turnovers, more than the Warriors were able to capitalise on the Suns'.

Game 2 was a game of 2 halves. The Suns controlled all of the 1st, hitting 6 of 10 three's in the 1st quarter and building up a 13 point lead, but then things started going wrong. The Suns couldn't buy a 3 for the rest of the game, going 6 of 25. They also decided to keep throwing the ball away to the Warriors and allowing them to get a ton of offensive rebounds.

The Suns did fight back in the dying minutes of the 4th, with Book scoring 12 of his season high matching 38 points in the period, but some iffy referee whistles and Steph Curry shot making was too much for us to overcome.

Overall the Suns look like they're beginning to run out of answers on offense. Book is obviously back and can easily carry the loads, but we definitely missed Grayson, who missed both games, and teams have now realised what Collin is capable of, their game planning for him. It's the 1st time this season I've felt like this, but we really need to see Jalen Green get back on the floor and give the offense some juice.

Other Suns Stuff

All-Star Voting is open

It's that time of the season again, so head on over to NBA.com and get voting for Book to be an All-Star.

Book's 38 Points

Book scored a season high tying 38 in the loss to the Warriors.

The other game this season in which he scored 38 was 4th November, in a loss to the Warriors....

Superstar Watch (Season stats):

Devin Booker - 25.6 Points, 4.2 Rebounds, 6.4 Assists, 1.0 Steals, 45.7 FG%, 30.3 3PT FG% & 3.5 Turnovers

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Scorching Suns:

Dillon Brooks

At last, Dillon's shooting percentages are solid for a full game week. I've been desperate to give this slot to him all season, but the shooting numbers just haven't been there.

His stats for the week:

23.0 Points, 6.0 Rebounds, 2.5 Assists, 0.5 Steals, 52.9 FG% & 50.0 3PT FG%

Struggling Suns:

There were a few candidates this week, including Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin. The difference between them and Royce, is that they're making an impact in other ways and they hit shots at really important times in the games.

Royce O'Neale

It's time to give Royce's minutes to Rasheer Fleming. Royce has lost a step on defence and I'm getting so fed up of him getting beat (or letting people pass him) for him to try and slap the ball away from them from behind.

He also isn't hitting shots, so why is he out there?

His stats for the week:

7.0 Points, 4.0 Rebounds, 2.5 Assists, 2.0 Steals, 31.3 FG% & 27.3 3PT FG%

Stat Line(s) of the Week:

Dillon Brooks Vs Golden State Warriors (Game 2)

We've seen Dillon consistently score for us so far, averaging a career high 21.7 points per game, but he isn't always the most efficient. This game saw the efficiency!

Game stat line:

22 Points, 5 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 8/11 FGs (72.7%) & 3/5 3PT FGs (60.0%)

Rookie Watch (Season stats):

Khaman Maluach - 12 games, 0 starts

1.4 Points, 1.0 Rebounds, 0.2 Assists, 0.0 Steals, 0.3 Blocks, 38.5 FG%, 0.0 3PT FG% & 0.4 Turnovers

Rasheer Fleming - 13 games, 0 starts

2.4 Points, 1.2 Rebounds, 0.2 Assists, 0.3 Steals, 0.2 Blocks, 34.4 FG%, 22.2 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:

For the 3rd time this month we're facing the Lakers. We've split the last 2 meetings, with our win being a blowout and there's being by just a few points. Last time they out hustled us and when you have a team that's also more talented, it's not a surprise we took a loss there. Things also got chippy, with plenty of techs thrown around, so keep a look out for that story beat.

The Pelicans are wallowing at the bottom of the league, but as of writing they've won 4 in a row, with one of them being against Houston!

Zion is back for them and has been coming off the bench as he plays his way back into shape. In their last game he scored 29 points in just 23 minutes. He's always been a problem for us and we still don't have a good match-up to guard him.

Prediction:

I think we'll lose to the Lakers and win both the Pelicans games.

Predictions League:

Here are the league standings after week 9. This week includes a bonus round which was to predict the winner of the NBA Cup.

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