Around the Suns - Weekly Roundup - Week 15
- Matt Elvy
- Feb 5, 2024
- 5 min read
Join us as we review the highs and lows of the last week, as well as previewing the week ahead.
Week 15: 28 January - 4 February 2024
Week Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 29-21. 6th in the Western Conference.
Games Played and Results:
W - 118 - 105 Vs Miami Heat
W - 136 - 120 Vs Brooklyn Nets
L - 120 - 129 Vs Atlanta Hawks
W - 140 - 112 Vs Washington Wizards
Centre of The Sun
This week saw the end of our 2-week 7-game road trip. We won 3 of the final 4 games, giving us a 4-3 record for the overall trip.
The week saw us give the Miami Heat their 7th straight loss. Book and Beal were underwhelming, struggling to get their shots to connect, Brad's newly acquired broken nose certainly wasn't helping. Luckily our bench decided to have their best game of the season, scoring 48 points, led by Eric Gordon's 23.
Brooklyn was up next and after the Nets beat us in Phoenix, it was the Suns' turn to beat the home side. This was Booker's best shooting game of the week, hitting 4 of 6 from downtown and he let old pal Mikal Bridges know about it.
It was the Suns' balanced attack however that secured them the victory. Grayson Allen missed this one due to injury, but Eric Gordon slid seamlessly into the starting line up, as he has done many times this season. Nurk was impressive in this one - more on that below.
Atlanta gave us our only loss of the week. To make a change 😒, it was turnovers and energy that contributed to this loss. That and Trae Young was determined to show his worth after finding out he would not be an All-Star the night before. KD led the Phoenix charge with 35 points, but it wasn't enough to beat the Hawks.
On paper our last game would be our easiest and the paper was correct. This was Bradley Beal's return to Washington and he was on fire from the start, scoring 14 in the 1st, leading to a 42 point quarter. He finished with a season his 43 points, giving his former home fans a show. He hit 4 of 5 from 3, which was great to see, as he'd been struggling from beyond the arc. The Suns finished the game scoring a season high 140 points (regulation time. We also scored 140 in an OT win against the Jazz).
In other news, after averaging 30 points on 53.9% shooting and leading the Suns to a 11-5 record, Booker was named the Western Conference Player of the Month. It's the 3rd time he's won the award in his career, the most by any player in Suns franchise history.
The night after, he was rightfully named an All-Star for the 4th time in his career, joining Kevin Durant on the team heading to Indianapolis Indiana.
Superstar Watch (Season stats):
Devin Booker - 27.8 Points, 4.8 Rebounds, 7.2 Assists, 0.9 Steals, 50.0 FG%, 38.7 3PT FG% & 2.6 Turnovers
Kevin Durant - 28.3 Points, 6.3 Rebounds, 5.7 Assists, 0.9 Steals, 1.3 Blocks, 53.8 FG%, 46.1 3PT FG% & 3.1 Turnovers
Bradley Beal - 18.1 Points, 4.2 Rebounds, 4.6 Assists, 0.8 Steals, 49.6 FG%, 34.5 3PT FG% & 2.4 Turnovers
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Scorching Suns:
Kevin Durant
As always KD was the steady scoring force we know he is. His scoring efficiency remains remarkable.
His stats for the week:
26.5 Points, 6.3 Rebounds, 6.5 Assists, 1.3 Steals, 1.5 Blocks, 60.9 FG% & 52.2 3PT FG%.
Drew Eubanks
Drew only missed 1 shot all week - the second week in a row he's achieve this. To be fair he hasn't taken many, but he seems to be back to the player we saw at the beginning of the season.
His stats for the week:
7.0 Points, 4.5 Rebounds, 1.3 Assists, 1.0 Block & 92.3 FG%.
Struggling Suns:
It's been a good week overall when looking at individual performances. I think I'll point to the turnovers in our defeat to the Hawks.
(We had just as many against the Wizards, but 9 of them came in the 4th quarter garbage time).
Stat Line(s) of the Week:
Bradley Beal vs Washington Wizards
Brad certainly still considers the Capital One Arena his, considering he absolutely owned the Wizards in this one, scoring his season and therefore Suns career high.
His 3-point shot had been off since breaking his nose, so it was great to see him hit 4 of 5 in this one.
Game stat line:
43 Points, 2 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 2 Steals, 16/21 FGs (76.2%) & 4/5 3PT FGs (80.0%).
Jusuf Nurkic vs Brooklyn Nets
The Nets had no answer for the Bosnian Beast. He used his size find the open man and when the pass wasn't available, he methodically backed the Brooklyn players down under the basket and hit them with a hook or a dunk 💪
Game stat line:
28 Points, 11 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 1 Steal, 2 Blocks & 11/15 FGs (73.3%).
Upcoming Games:
There are 3 games this week. The first 2 are at home, the last on the road.
The Bucks are in a strange position at the moment. They had the 2nd best record in the East, but fired their coach, bringing Doc Rivers in instead. So far, they're still trying to figure out Doc's system, going 1-3 in his first 3 games at the helm.
They are of course still one of the most dangerous teams in the league, but this could be a good opportunity for us to get a win over a contending team.
The Jazz are next and they've fallen from the heights they were at this time last season and have lost 6 of their last 10 games. They currently sit at 10th in the West. We've beaten them 3 times already this season and all games have been high scoring affairs, one going to overtime.
Last up is the Golden State Warriors, who are looking nothing like their former selves. Steph Curry is still incredible, scoring 60 against Atlanta, but the team sit in 12th losing 6 of their last 10 games.
Prediction:
The Bucks are the wildcard, because we don't know what team will turn up for the game. The lost their last game, but they've had a few days to get a bit more used to Doc.
The Jazz and Warriors I'm more confident in my predictions.
I'm hoping the Bucks still struggle and I'm going to say 3 wins this week.
Predictions League:
Any Other Business:
Dave King
It was a sad day in the Suns online community, as we lost one of it's true community leaders. Bright Side of the Suns' Dave King sadly passed away after a battle with cancer.
Please give this lovely tribute from John Voita a read, to see the impact that Dave had on this community:
Details of how to donate to Bright Side Night are included.
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