Around the Suns - Weekly Roundup - Week 24

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

Week 24: 1-7 April 2024

Week Record: 3-1

Overall Record: 46-32. 6th in the Western Conference.

Games Played and Results:

W - 124 - 111 Vs New Orleans Pelicans

W - 122 - 101 Vs Cleveland Cavaliers

W - 97 - 87 Vs Minnesota Timberwolves

L - 105 - 113 Vs New Orleans Pelicans

Centre of The Sun

The week started with a bang! as Book went off for 52 against the Pelicans - his 3rd 50-point game in a row against them. He's only the 2nd player to ever achieve that feat, the other was Wilt Chamberlain.

The Pelicans had no answer for Book at all and the rest of the starters contributed as well. Durant had 20, Nurk put up a 19 point, 19 rebound double-double and Beal hit 3 of 4 from 3. The biggest news though was that Book finally broke 6 3-pointer curse, knocking down 8. Here's this for a stat:

Our game vs the Cavs was another Book masterclass, but this time KD joined in. They combined for 72 points and 15 assists.

Book lead the way with 40 points and 8 assists. According to the Suns it's only the 2nd time that a Suns player has had 40+ points and 5+ assists in back-to-back games. The last player to do that was.... Devin Booker 🤭

The Suns also showed off their 3-point offense and defence, holding the Cavs to just 7 from outside, but hitting 54% of theirs for 18 hits.

The Minnesota games was a scrappy defensive battle, in a final score not seen very often in today's NBA, as neither team cracked 100. It was essentially a Suns blow-out with them leading from start to finish. Phoenix got out to a double-digit lead 4 minutes into the 1st quarter and never relinquished it.

Finally, we faced the Pelicans again. This one was no where near as one-sided as the 1st game. Beal had an excellent game with 33, KD added 23 and Book had 25, but he struggled from 3, going 0 for 6.

The Suns took an early lead, but New Orleans picked up the effort in the 2nd, then the Suns fell apart in the 3rd. Beal kept the Suns in the game, scoring 10 straight in the 4th to tie the game, but then Zion flipped the Superstar switch and dominated down the stretch.

Superstar Watch (Season stats):

Devin Booker - 27.3 Points, 4.6 Rebounds, 7.0 Assists, 0.9 Steals, 49.5 FG%, 36.4 3PT FG% & 2.6 Turnovers

Kevin Durant - 27.4 Points, 6.7 Rebounds, 5.2 Assists, 0.9 Steals, 1.2 Blocks, 52.7 FG%, 41.8 3PT FG% & 3.3 Turnovers

Bradley Beal - 17.6 Points, 4.2 Rebounds, 5.1 Assists, 1.0 Steal, 50.5 FG%, 41.0 3PT FG% & 2.5 Turnovers

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Scorching Suns:

Bradley Beal

Brad has been very efficient this week, but could have done with shooting more, as he's in a groove. He finally did that in his 33 point outburst against the Pelicans.

His stats for the week:

16.8 Points, 5.5 Rebounds, 5.0 Assists, 1.0 Steal, 0.8 Blocks, 60.0 FG% & 72.2 3PT FG%.

Devin Booker

Of course the 52 & 40 point games stick out, but Book has also been setting everyone else up with over 9 assists per game.

His stats for the week:

32.5 Points, 2.5 Rebounds, 9.3 Assists, 1.3 Steals, 54.3 FG% & 38.9 3PT FG%.

Struggling Suns:

Drew Eubanks

If you just look at the box score, you can see that Drew had a sub-par week, but watching his minutes this week has been even more painful.

He's fumbled so many plays, where he hasn't been ready for the ball on a roll, causing a turnover for the passer, or tried making a difficult move when an easy one was available. There have also been multiple instances where Book and KD have thrown their arms in the air in frustration after a pass to Eubanks, where he's made a mess of it.

His stats for the week:

3.3 Points, 5.0 Rebounds & 36.4 FG%.

Eric Gordon

The Gordon rollercoaster continues. This week was a low.

His stats for the week:

3.8 Points, 0.8 Rebounds, 1.3 Assists, 1.0 Steal, 27.8 FG% & 23.1 3PT FG%.

Stat Line(s) of the Week:

Devin Booker vs New Orleans Pelicans (Game 1)

Booker loves playing the Pelicans!

This was his 3rd game in a row against them where he's scored over 50 points. The last and only other player to do that? Wilt Chamberlain

However, that's nothing. The real achievement is that he finally broke through that six 3-pointer glass ceiling, to set a new career high with 8.

Game stat line:

52 Points, 3 Rebounds, 9 Assists, 1 Block, 19/28 FGs (67.9%) & 8/16 3PT FGs (50.0%).

Bradley Beal vs New Orleans Pelicans (Game 2)

As discussed, Brad was efficient all week. His teammates had been wanting him to take more shots and he did that against the Pelicans in our 2nd match-up with them.

He went off for 15 in the 4th quarter, including 10 straight for the Suns and hit all 5 of his 3 point attempts in the 2nd half.

Game stat line:

33 Points, 3 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 2 Blocks, 13/19 FGs (68.4%) & 7/8 3PT FGs (87.5%).

Honourable Mention:

Jusuf Nurkic vs New Orleans Pelicans (Game 1)

Game stat line:

19 Points, 19 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1 Steal, 2 Blocks, 5/11 FGs (45.5%) & 1/2 3PT FGs (50.0%).

Royce O'Neale vs Cleveland Cavaliers

Game stat line:

17 Points, 6 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 1 Steal, 6/9 FGs (66.7%) & 5/7 3PT FGs (71.4%).

Upcoming Games:

The final week of the regular season is upon us and the Suns are still fighting to stay out of the Play-in positions and the opponents are not getting any easier.

We have 4 games, with our final 3 being on the road, a horrible way to end the season.

A home/road back-to-back against the Clippers, with the 2nd game being in LA is a brutal way to start the week. They lead our season series 2-0, so it's our chance to tie it up.

The Clippers come in to the game on a 3 game win streak and having won 7 of their last 10, but Kawhi missed their last game, showing day-to-day on the injury report. There's been no word on his status for Tuesday's game, as of writing.

Next up is the Sacramento Kings. They were fighting for homecourt for most of the season, but have taken a dip in the latter stages now sitting in 8th and going 5-5 over their last 10.

Our final game is against the Timberwolves, who have been one of the surprise teams, fighting for the top spot in the West. We beat them last week quite easily, with the final 5 minutes of the 4th being garbage time for the reserves. The Suns were up by 20 when the coaches emptied their benches.

The Wolves were without Karl-Anthony Towns for the game and he could be back for the next one, but it seems like we have their number.

Another positive is that the game tips off at 8.30pm for us UK fans, so we get to see the final game of the regular season live.

Prediction:

Heart over head this week. I'm going with 4 wins.

Predictions League:

Other Suns Stuff:

Signed

After completing his 2nd 10-day contract, the Suns have decided to sign Isaiah Thomas for the rest of the season.

Another KD Milestone

His 32 against the Cavs was his 387th of his career. He passed Oscar Robertson for the 7th most in NBA history.

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