Around the Suns - Weekly Roundup - Week 20

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

Week 20: 3-9 March

Week Record: 2-1

Overall Record: 30-34. 11th in the Western Conference.

Games Played and Results:

W - 119 - 117 Vs LA Clippers

L - 141 - 149 Vs Denver Nuggets OT

W - 125 - 116 Vs Dallas Mavericks

Centre of The Sun

The Suns had a winning record this week! 🎉

You could see a difference in the way the Suns played this past week, although of course, in Suns fashion, it hasn't been consistent. Against the Clippers we went behind by 23 in the 3rd, before having the best come-back game we've had in a long, long time, to get the win. KD took over when all seemed lost scoring 19 points in the 4th quarter. He was aided by a surprise player - Colin Gillespie, who played all but 3 seconds of the 4th, scoring all 10 of his points AND hitting a go-ahead 3.

Then, against Denver, we once again got ourselves into a big hole, this time down 21 in the 3rd. The Nuggets held the lead all game till 2 minutes remained, where Book would tie the game. The Suns allowed Braun to hit, what looked like a game-winning 3 with 1.4 seconds remaining, but the Suns got the ball to Durant who hit a game tying 3 to force overtime. Phoenix ran out of momentum in the overtime period though, giving up 24 points. Allen played great, scoring 11 of our 16 in the extra time, but everyone else was cold. Not only did we lose, but we ended up being on the wrong side of history, as Jokic got the NBA's 1st ever 30-20-20 triple-double!

We got a break against Dallas, who could only field 9 players, 2 of them being on two-way contracts. The Suns won and looked in control all the way, but against the talent Dallas had available it should have been a blowout. Maybe they were taking it easy, being in the middle of a road trip and I'm being harsh, but in games like this it does really show how far behind the elite teams we are in our mentality. Book was aggressive all game, but struggled with his shot, needing 21 shots to get his 24 points. Richards and Plumlee were 2 of the main highlights highlights in this one (more on that later) thanks to Dallas' lack of size and depth in the middle.

Other Suns Stuff

Another Scoring Milestone for Book

Against the Nuggets Book passed the 16,000 point mark for his career. He is the 4th youngest active player to reach the mark, with LeBron, KD and Giannis ahead of him.

KD climbs another ladder

Sunday's game in Dallas saw Durant pass Dirk Nowitzki for 8th in the NBA's All-Time free throws made list, with 7,241. He needs another 87 to pass Michael Jordan for 7th.

Bud - KD "Drama"

I almost didn't put this in, but I'm sure you all saw the clip of KD ripping his arm away from Bud going into a timeout and how everyone started speculating it's because of a "bad" relationship. I'm not saying it isn't, but they both claimed in interviews after that they're fine and it was just the heat of the moment. Full clips also show KD taking Bud to the side and clearing the air before the gam restarted.

Superstar Watch (Season stats):

Devin Booker - 26.0 Points, 4.0 Rebounds, 6.9 Assists, 1.1 Steals, 45.7 FG%, 34.5 3PT FG% & 2.8 Turnovers

Kevin Durant - 26.8 Points, 6.2 Rebounds, 4.3 Assists, 0.9 Steals, 1.3 Blocks, 52.9 FG%, 39.8 3PT FG% & 3.0 Turnovers

Bradley Beal - 17.5 Points, 3.5 Rebounds, 3.8 Assists, 1.0 Steals, 0.6 Blocks, 50.2 FG%, 40.0 3PT FG% & 2.0 Turnovers

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Scorching Suns:

Grayson Allen headline's this week's section, but I also want to use this week's edition to highlight the work of Nick Richards and Mason Plumlee. This past week they really stepped up to help the team succeed. Yes, there was still some sloppy hands and brain farts from them, but overall they were a good starter-bench combo. Plumlee was integral in some of our strong comeback stretches this week.

For our 3 games they combined for 31 points, 14.3 rebounds on around 23 minutes each.

Grayson Allen

His stats for the week:

12.0 Points, 1.3 Rebounds, 3.3 Assists, 70.6 FG% & 70.0 3PT FG%

Mason Plumlee

His stats for the week:

15.0 Points, 7.3 Rebounds, 1.7 Assists & 76.2 FG%

Nick Richards

His stats for the week:

16.0 Points, 7.0 Rebounds & 76.7 FG%

Struggling Suns:

Bol Bol

Bol has fallen back down to Earth with a bit of a bump this week. I think he's now starting to appear higher on opposing team scouting reports, so not all his shots are as open as they were. Match-up also seemed to play a factor as his minutes dropped to 13 per game, down from around 20 the previous 2 weeks.

His stats for the week:

4.3 Points, 3.7 Rebounds, 0.7 Assists, 37.5 FG% & 12.5 3PT FG%

Stat Line(s) of the Week:

Kevin Durant vs LA Clippers

KD takes this spot for his incredible performance in the 4th quarter, scoring 19 of his 34 points in the period, on 6 of 9 shooting, including 3 of 5 from 3.

Game stat line:

34 Points, 7 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1 Steal, 2 Blocks, 10/22 FGs (45.5%) & 4/11 3PT FGs (36.4%).

Mason Plumlee Vs Denver Nuggets

Game stat line:

18 Points, 11 Rebounds, 1 Steal, 1 Block & 7/8 FGs (87.5%)

Honourable Mentions

Colin Gillespie Vs LA Clippers

Colin played all but 3 seconds of the 4th quarter, after only playing 2 and half minutes the rest of the game and was just as important as KD down the stretch. He sparked our comeback using energy that the Suns have been sorely missing.

Game stat line:

10 Points, 2 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 4/6 FGs (66.7%) & 2/3 3PT FGs (66.7%).

Rookie Watch (Season stats):

Ryan Dunn - 56 games, 28 starts

5.9 Points, 3.1 Rebounds, 0.8 Assists, 0.4 Steals, 0.5 Blocks, 43.1 FG%, 30.1 3PT FG% & 0.4 Turnovers

Oso Igodharo - 44 games, 2 starts

3.3 Points, 3.0 Rebounds, 0.9 Assists, 0.4 Steals, 0.3 Blocks, 57.4 FG%, 0.0 3PT FG% (1 attempt) & 0.5 Turnovers

Jalen Bridges - 5 games

0.8 Points, 0.6 Rebounds, 0.0 Assists, 0.0 Steals, 0.0 Blocks, 25.0 FG%, 25.0 3PT FG% & 0.8 Turnovers

Upcoming Games:

Here are the UK tip-off times:

Another tough week for the Suns incoming, as all teams are over .550, with Memphis, Houston and LA fighting for homecourt advantage in the Playoffs.

We've lost all 3 games against Memphis so far. Their team's strengths are our weaknesses. Last game was a fun one, going to overtime and having KD pass the 30,000 point mark, but we need results at this point.

The Rockets are in an odd position. They started off strong being as high as 2nd in the standings, but they've begun to dip as teams like the Nuggets and Lakers have started ramping up. They've also just lost lost Amen Thompson to an injury which is likely to keep him out for a couple of weeks.

We have 1 stop back at home against the Kings. They look very different to the last time we saw them. They no longer have De'Aaron Fox, but now have Zach LaVine back alongside DeMar DeRozan and may have Sabonis back from injury by Friday.

Our last game of the week is back on the road, visiting the Lakers. It'll be our 1st time seeing the Suns match-up against Luka Doncic in a Lakers uniform. LeBron is injured and unlikely to be available for the game. The LeBron - Luka tandem has been awesome since forming, so it's a good break for us. Another plus is that this is a 7:30pm UK time game - the 2nd week in a row!

Prediction:

I don't see us beating Memphis, but considering the injuries others have, a fairly good match-up against the Kings and the way we've shown fight this past week, I think we'll lost to Memphis, but get wins in our other games.

Predictions League:

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