Around the Suns - Weekly Roundup - Week 17

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

Week 17: 12-18 February 2024

Week Record: 2-0

Overall Record: 33-22. 5th in the Western Conference.

Games Played and Results:

W - 130 - 125 Vs Sacramento Kings

W - 116 - 110 Vs Detroit Pistons

Centre of The Sun

The Kings game was very fun to watch. It was close throughout and the Suns used a small-ball line-up to take the lead and win the game. Book had a bad 1st half, but was amazing in the last few minutes, completely taking over. In the last 2 and a half minutes, he outscored the Kings by himself.

Of course the viral highlight of the game was Okogie's offensive rebound in the dying minutes, which gave us an additional possession, leading to 2 more Booker free throws.

The game wasn't all positive though, as Beal pull his hamstring in the 1st quarter, missing the rest of the game and our match-up against the Pistons.

The Pistons game got weird even before it started, as Shams reported that Detroit's Isaiah Stewart punched Drew Eubanks. Stewart was subsequently arrested and charged for assault.

Once the game got started, after only 5 minutes of play Book got ejected for, what can only be described as, hurting the refs feelings. The team kept their composure though and proceeded to blow them out. Detroit clawed it back in the 4th, which was a 12 minute garbage time.

There was one more game, but only for Book and KD. Both represented the Suns in the All-Star game and although the East won, Book and KD both had pretty good games.

Book had 15 Points, 4 Rebounds & 7 Assists.

KD had 18 Points, 5 Rebounds & 5 Assists.

Superstar Watch (Season stats):

Devin Booker - 27.5 Points, 4.6 Rebounds, 7.0 Assists, 0.9 Steals, 50.0 FG%, 37.9 3PT FG% & 2.6 Turnovers

Kevin Durant - 28.2 Points, 6.6 Rebounds, 5.7 Assists, 0.9 Steals, 1.3 Blocks, 53.8 FG%, 44.3 3PT FG% & 3.2 Turnovers

Bradley Beal - 18.2 Points, 4.3 Rebounds, 4.5 Assists, 0.9 Steals, 49.5 FG%, 36.3 3PT FG% & 2.4 Turnovers

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Scorching Suns:

Kevin Durant

I think I need to rename this the "Kevin Durant Appreciation Section"

His stats for the week:

26.5 Points, 8.5 Rebounds, 5.0 Assists, 1.0 Steal, 1.0 Block, 63.3 FG% & 37.5 3PT FG%.

Royce O'Neale

Royce hasn't had crazy numbers, but I wanted to show appreciation for his first full week with the team and how he's fit in, already impacting games with his intelligent play.

His stats for the week:

9.0 Points, 5.5 Rebounds, 4.0 Assists, 3.0 Steals, 46.2 FG% & 45.5 3PT FG%.

Struggling Suns:

Another difficult week to choose someone here, as the Suns performed well.

I'm going to choose Grayson Allen, but only because he had a bad shooting week by the standards he's set so far this season.

His stats for the week:

14.0 Points, 2.5 Rebounds, 5.0 Assists, 1.0 Block, 47.4 FG% & 30.0 3PT FG%.

Stat Line(s) of the Week:

Kevin Durant vs Sacramento Kings

Game stat line:

28 Points, 11 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1 Steal, 11/17 FGs (64.7%) & 2/5 3PT FGs (40.0%).

Honourable Mention(s)

Grayson Allen vs Sacramento Kings

Game stat line:

19 Points, 4 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1 Block, 7/10 FGs (70.0%) & 2/5 3PT FGs (40.0%).

Jusuf Nurkic vs Detroit Pistons

Game stat line:

10 Points, 13 Rebounds, 7 Assists, 2 Blocks, 2/2 FGs (100.0%) & 6/10 FTs (60.0%).

Upcoming Games:

The All-Star break is over and our tough road begins.

1st up is Luka Doncic and the revamped Dallas Mavericks. They're currently the joint hottest team in the league with a 6-game win streak going into the break. Doncic loves beating up on us, as it's been well documented.

We blew them out in the last game, returning the favour from their thrashing of us on Christmas, so this is an important match-up when considering Playoff seedings.

This is our 2nd meeting with the Rockets this season, we beat them in the 1st game pretty easily. Gordon had his best scoring game as a Sun against them.

Houston had a good start to the season, but have lost 7 of their last 10 and sit at 12th in the West.

Sunday is a game at a decent time for us UK fans. This is our 5th meeting with the Lakers thanks to the In-Season Tournament and annoyingly they've beat us in 3 of those 4. It's always a tense game against LA and they're playing some of their best basketball of the season.

Prediction:

Dallas is the one I'm questioning here, as they always have our number, but I think that we're rolling at the moment and having Royce on the team should help.

I think we'll win all 3.

Predictions League:

This week's results include our 2 games and the All-Star Weekend bonus round.

Other Suns Stuff:

Book 2nd in Franchise scoring

With his 25 against the Kings, Booker moved into 2nd on the Suns All-Time scoring list.

New D-League Team

The Suns announced that, as promised last season, they will be starting a D-League franchise. No name has been announced, as fans can offer suggestions, just like when the Suns were established.

Book's Shoe Release

On 17th February Book dropped his 'Mirage' Book 1, as the official release. You had to be quick to get them, as even here in the UK, they sold out on launch day.

I got mine, did you?

Another Pod Appearance?

This week I joined Matt Alcock on his podcast: The Shooters Lounge, where we spoke all things Suns. All the links can be found in the tweet below:

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