Around the Suns - Weekly Roundup - Week 14
- Matt Elvy
- Jan 27
- 6 min read
Join us as we review the highs and lows of the last week, as well as previewing the week ahead.
Week 14: 20-26 January
Week Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 23-21. 8th in the Western Conference.
Games Played and Results:
L - 92 - 118 Vs Cleveland Cavaliers
W - 108 - 84 Vs Brooklyn Nets
W - 119 - 109 Vs Washington Wizards
Centre of The Sun
Unsurprisingly, the Cleveland Cavaliers completely outclassed us in our opening game of the week. If there was ever a demonstration of how far the Suns are from being true contenders, this was it. We started off ok, ending the 1st quarter tied 27 all, but the Cavs took over the middle 2 quarters, outscoring us 66-43. They took 19 more shots than us, including 20 more 3's. Math gonna math and we came out on the wrong end of it.
Nothing in the game was truly bad from the Suns, the Cavs just out played us on both ends of the court, as they should at this point.
On to some wins 😎
Not only are the Nets in rebuild mode, but they were missing all of their key players with injuries. This did mean we got to see plenty of Newcastle product Tosan Evbuomwan though. Throughout points this season, this would have been seen as a trap game where the Suns play down to the competition, but they resisted that urge here 😆. Book finished the game with 32 points, giving him 200 30+ point games for his career and Nick Richards grabbed a season high 15 rebounds. Durant played his part getting lots of cheers from the Brooklyn crowd, adding 24 points.
Our last game of the week was against the Wizards, the 2nd week in a row we've faced them. This time round though we didn't give them as many openings to get back into the game. KD led the way with 29 points on ridiculous shooting, making 11 of 19. Nick Richards had his best game as a Sun with 20 points and a career high 19 rebounds. He almost had 20 rebounds, but comically fumbled the ball on his 3 last attempts to grab one.
Other Suns Stuff
Book Closing in on Suns Scoring Title
Following last week's games, Book is now just 145 points away from passing Walter Davis and becoming the leading scorer in Suns history. On his current scoring average it should take 5-6 games for him to reach the mark. If that is the case it means he'll pass it on the upcoming road trip.
We have an All-Star
For the 15th time in his career, Kevin Durant will be an NBA All-Star. He was voted in as 1 of the starters for the game, well, games this year 🤨
Nurk & Bud Relationship
According to Nurkic he and Coach Bud have no relationship. Speaking to Duane Rankin of AZ Central, Nurk said, "We don’t have a relationship, so it’s fine. For me, just be a pro and do the best I can. Work and stay ready for whatever might be, but there is no chaos or bringing that to this team. They already have plenty of it. Trying to be as professional as I can and work my ass off for something else."
Trades & Rumours
This week the Suns made a trade, but in a rare move for the NBA it included no players. The traded their 2031 1st round pick for 3 future 1st round picks that the Jazz own. The trade sets us up to have more assets for the upcoming deadline. Whether they're for a Jimmy Butler trade or not remains to be seen, but it has replenished the war chest somewhat.
According to Jake Fischer of ESPN, the Suns have shown interest in a Beal for LaVine swap. This was then corroborated on Monday by Brian Windhorst, saying, "They (Bulls) are absolutely involved with the Suns, involving possible Jimmy Butler situations. Not that Butler would end up in Chicago."
Superstar Watch (Season stats):
Devin Booker - 25.5 Points, 3.9 Rebounds, 6.6 Assists, 1.2 Steals, 44.1 FG%, 33.7 3PT FG% & 2.4 Turnovers
Kevin Durant - 27.2 Points, 6.4 Rebounds, 4.1 Assists, 0.8 Steals, 1.3 Blocks, 52.4 FG%, 39.4 3PT FG% & 3.1 Turnovers
Bradley Beal - 17.2 Points, 3.5 Rebounds, 3.3 Assists, 1.1 Steals, 0.7 Blocks, 48.5 FG%, 39.6 3PT FG% & 1.9 Turnovers
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Scorching Suns:
Kevin Durant
KD rediscovered his 3-point stroke in dramatic fashion this week, to the tune of 62.5%, hitting 10 of his 16 attempts
His stats for the week:
25.3 Points, 6.7 Rebounds, 3.0 Assists, 1.0 Block, 56.0 FG% & 62.5 3PT FG%
Struggling Suns:
Royce O'Neale
Royce has struggled since returning from injury, but it was magnified this week because of the amount of 3's he attempted. He took 16, but only hit 2, many of which were wide open shots. Finger's crossed he can find his rhythm again and get back to the +40% he was at before the injury.
His stats for the week:
2.0 Points, 4.7 Rebounds, 0.3 Assists, 11.1 FG% & 12.5 3PT FG%
Stat Line(s) of the Week:
Kevin Durant vs Washington Wizards
Game stat line:
29 Points, 5 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1 Steal, 11/19 FGs (57.9%) & 5/8 3PT FGs (62.5%).
Nick Richards vs Washington Wizards
Game stat line:
20 Points, 19 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 1 Block & 7/12 FGs (58.3%)
Rookie Watch (Season stats):
Ryan Dunn - 40 games, 24 starts
7.3 Points, 3.4 Rebounds, 0.9 Assists, 0.5 Steals, 0.7 Blocks, 45.2 FG%, 31.7 3PT FG% & 0.4 Turnovers
Oso Igodharo - 36 games, 2 starts
3.8 Points, 3.5 Rebounds, 1.0 Assists, 0.5 Steals, 0.4 Blocks, 55.8 FG%, 0.0 3PT FG% (1 attempt) & 0.6 Turnovers
Jalen Bridges - 2 games
0.5 Points, 0.5 Rebounds, 0.0 Assists, 0.0 Steals, 0.0 Blocks, 0.0 FG%, 0.0 3PT FG% & 1.0 Turnovers
Upcoming Games:
Here are the UK tip-off times:
The Clippers are having a fairly good season, especially when Kawhi Leonard only started playing recently. James Harden and Norm Powell has kept them afloat so far. We faced them twice in the 1st 2 weeks of the season where we took the win in both. Clippers are gritty and very well coached, so it'll be a tough game for us. I'm interested to see the match-up between Nick Richards and Ivica Zubac.
The Wolves are next and after their rise to the 2nd round of the Playoffs last year, they traded Karl-Anthony Towns fully handing the reigns to Anthony Edwards. They were expected to be 1 of the best teams in the West this year, but they've had their struggles, just like the Suns. They're currently 1 spot ahead of us in the standings, They've just come off a big win against Denver and face the Hawks before visiting us. We've faced them once this season and lost by 3 points.
Like the Wolves, the Warriors are not having the season they expected. The roster isn't quite as strong as it has been over the last decade, with Curry not getting much help and showing frustration with his team during games. They're currently in 11th and have lost 6 of their last 10 games. We've faced the Warriors twice, each team taking a W.
Our last game of the week is in Portland. We face them 2 games in a row in Portland. We've beaten them twice already, but gave us a scare in both games, as we did our usual lethargic play against lower teams. Luckily they have Deandre Ayton, so their effort will always be lower than our by default 😂. They're currently 13th in the West.
Prediction:
It's a difficult one to predict this week, what with us being inconsistent, but then playing against the Wolves and Warriors who are in similar boats to us.
I'm going to say we lose to the Clippers and Wolves, but beat the Warriors and Blazers.
Predictions League:
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