Around the Suns - Weekly Roundup - Week 3

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

Week 3: 4-10 November 2024

Week Record: 3-1

Overall Record: 8-2. 1st in the Western Conference.

Games Played and Results:

W - 118 - 116 Vs Philadelphia 76ers

W - 115 - 112 Vs Miami Heat

W - 114 - 113 Vs Dallas Mavericks

L - 118 - 127 Vs Sacramento Kings OT

Centre of The Sun

I'm sure you already know this, but Kevin Durant is injured 😭

He picked up the injury against Dallas, but it isn't clear when in the game this happened, as he played till the end and was brilliant down the stretch.

The timing of this isn't great, as he's been playing at an MVP level and both Book and Beal have been struggling over the last 4-5 games. We genuinely would have lost all of the recent games that have been so close down the stretch.

Speaking of those close games, let's get into it.

We started the week in dramatic fashion, as the injury depleted 76ers came to town. It was close throughout with the biggest lead being 11 by the Suns in the 1st quarter. Philly built a 9 point lead in the 4th quarter, but luckily we have a big red button aka Kevin Durant. He completely took over, scoring 15 of the Suns 24 points for the quarter, finishing with 35 for the game on a game winning lay-up.

Against the Heat we once again leaned into Kevin Durant's greatness. He scored double figures in the 4th once again with 11

Nurk had his best game of the season, with a huge 20 points, 18 rebound double-double. He also hit all 3 of his 3-point attempts.

Book also had a bounce back game with 22 points and 9 rebounds on over 52% shooting.

Playing Dallas for the 2nd time this season, in Dallas, was always going to be a tough one, and as you would have seen by the score, it was a close one. The Suns managed to get a double-digit lead in the 2nd quarter, but Dallas were able to claw their way back in.

KD and Kyrie had a duel in the 4th, trading buckets, which was so cool to see. I turned to my son and said that I imagine that's what practise was like when they were in Brooklyn.

At the end though it wasn't offensive execution that secured the win, but scrapping and doing the dirty work, as KD missed a 3, but the offensive rebound was grabbed by Beal for a Nurkic dunk.

Dallas had the final play to win, but came up with a terrible out of bounds play for a Luka Hail Mary, which was nowhere near close.

The Kings on paper was going to be a tough game, but with KD out we'd need Book and Beal to step up.

Brad did put up a season high 28 points on a bum knee and Book, still feeling the effects of food poisoning, added 23 and his 2nd double-double of the week, with 12 assists. Tyus Jones also had his best scoring game as a Sun, dropping 22 while hitting 6 three's.

Unfortunately without KD, we didn't have the clutch 4th quarter we've become accustomed to. We let an 11-point lead slip and allow the Kings to put their 2 clutch players (DeRozan and Fox) in positions to force overtime, then hammer us in the added period.

If you enjoy basketball, you have to marvel at DeRozan's performance in the 4th and OT period in this one, backed-up by some big buckets from Fox to take the W.

Superstar Watch (Season stats):

Devin Booker - 23.1 Points, 4.2 Rebounds, 6.8 Assists, 0.9 Steals, 42.9 FG%, 32.4 3PT FG% & 1.9 Turnovers

Kevin Durant - 27.6 Points, 6.6 Rebounds, 3.4 Assists, 0.8 Steals, 1.4 Blocks, 55.3 FG%, 42.9 3PT FG% & 3.3 Turnovers

Bradley Beal - 15.4 Points, 3.6 Rebounds, 3.9 Assists, 1.4 Steals, 0.9 Blocks, 46.1 FG%, 37.2 3PT FG% & 1.3 Turnovers

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Scorching Suns:

Kevin Durant

Ignoring the unfortunate injury, it's been an incredible week for KD. All week he has completely taken over games down the stretch and carried us with his amazing performances in the clutch.

Need a game tying middy - Got it!

Need a go-ahead 3 - Got it!

Need a game-winning lay-up - Got it!

We wouldn't have won those 3 games this week without him.

Stretching further than just this week, the Suns are 7-0 in clutch games this season and KD has scored 35 points in clutch minutes.

(Clutch minutes = the final 5 minutes where the game is within 5 points)

His stats for the week:

31.0 Points, 5.7 Rebounds, 4.3 Assists, 1.3 Blocks, 61.4 FG% & 40.9 3PT FG%

Mason Plumlee

Mason is quietly putting together a really solid season off the bench for us. He comes in every game, makes smart plays to aid the offense and grabs most rebounds in his vicinity.

Last week he missed just 1 shot all week, while also stepping in for Nurkic when he left the Kings game and grabbed a season high 11 rebounds and 6 assists.

(NB - he's a hugely underrated passer).

His stats for the week:

4.8 Points, 4.8 Rebounds, 2.3 Assists & 88.9 FG%

Honourable Mentions:

Tyus Jones

His stats for the week:

12.0 Points, 1.8 Rebounds, 5.5 Assists, 48.7 FG% & 50.0 3PT FG%

Royce O'Neale

His stats for the week:

11.8 Points, 6.5 Rebounds, 1.5 Assists, 48.6 FG% & 57.9 3PT FG%

Struggling Suns:

Grayson Allen

After looking like he was getting into the groove of the season, Grayson has had an off shooting week.

His stats for the week:

8.8 Points, 2.0 Rebounds, 0.8 Assists, 0.5 Steals, 27.3 FG% & 29.6 3PT FG%

Stat Line(s) of the Week:

Kevin Durant vs Philadelphia 76ers

Do you know who he is? He's Kevin Durant!

KD went into God mode in the 4th quarter, saving us from an unlikely loss. He was his usual self throughout the game, but was simple unstoppable in the 4th and finished with a season high 35 points.

Game stat line:

35 Points, 4 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 1 Block, 14/20 FGs (70.0%) & 2/5 3PT FGs (40.0%).

Jusuf Nurkic vs Miami Heat

Nurk heard your slander on X and came out with this masterful performance.

He's only the 2nd Center in Suns history to hit 100% of his 3's in a game on a minimum of 3 attempts.

Game stat line:

20 Points, 18 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 1 Steal, 2 Blocks, 6/8 FGs (75%) & 3/3 3PT FGs (100%).

Honourable Mention:

Royce O'Neale vs Dallas Mavericks

To quote the greatest game ever - "HE'S ON FIRE!"

It's the 2nd week in a row where Royce has had a near perfect shooting game.

Game stat line:

18 Points, 5 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 7/8 FGs (87.5%) & 4/4 3PT FGs (100%).

Rookie Watch (Season stats):

Ryan Dunn - 9 games, 3 starts

6.9 Points, 2.2 Rebounds, 0.8 Assists, 0.4 Steals, 0.3 Blocks, 47.1 FG%, 36.1 3PT FG% & 0.3 Turnovers

Ryan had a scare with a turned ankle and missed the Dallas game. He was back starting in place of the injured Durant against the Kings though 😁

Oso Igodharo - 4 games

1.8 Points, 2.2 Rebounds, 0.2 Assists, 0.0 Steals, 0.2 Blocks, 57.1 FG%, 0.0 3PT FG% (0 attempts) & 0.6 Turnovers

Oso saw time against the Kings, playing 10 minutes, his most since opening night.

Jalen Bridges - 0 games

Jalen is currently with the Valley Suns G-League team.

Upcoming Games:

Our 1st big(ish) road trip begins, with all 4 games on the road.

Here are the UK tip-off times:

Our games against the Jazz and Kings are both Emirates NBA Cup games.

This week is all going to depend on how the team adjusts without KD. Can Book shake of his illness, can Beal be consistent and can the "others" step up in their roles?

On paper the Jazz game is the easiest, but the rest of the week is against established teams. We just lost to the Kings, but had we knocked down a few more of our open three's we probably would have won. Even though the Thunder have just lost Holmgren to injury, they're still an excellent team. Finally, the Timberwolves are still getting used to their new look team, but Edwards always feels like he has something to prove when facing Book.

Prediction:

I think this week we'll beat the Jazz and Kings, but then lose to the Thunder and Timberwolves.

Predictions League:

Other Suns Stuff:

Valley Suns Kick-off Inaugural Season

The Valley Suns are 2 games deep into their season. Both match-ups were against the Santa Cruz Warriors, where each team took a win. The Suns two-way players, Bridges and Washington Jr have led the charge so far both dropping 20+ in each game.

In their win, Washington Jr got the franchise's first (if you ignore the former NAZ Suns) 30 point game and first double-double, with 10 assists.

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