Around the Suns - Weekly Roundup - Week 7

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

Week 7: 4-10 December 2023

Week Record: 0-2

Overall Record: 12-10. 7th in the Western Conference.

Games Played and Results:

L - 103 - 106 Vs Los Angeles Lakers (In-Season Quarter Final)

L - 106 - 114 Vs Sacramento Kings

Centre of The Sun

So, the In-Season Tournament didn't go quite how we planned. I think it went how the NBA planned though 😒

The Suns were sloppy throughout, re-igniting their turnover issues from earlier in the season. The refs of course also didn't help the flow of the game, making it very clear where their whistle would be throughout, giving Nurk soft fouls, taking our key Anthony Davis defender.

For the Kings game, we were without Durant and Grayson Allen. The Kings are playing very good basketball again this season. Book did all he could to keep us in the game, but they were ultimately too much for us.

In more positive news Bradley Beal is looking to make his comeback vs the Warriors, according to Duane Rankin!

Superstar Watch (Season stats):

Devin Booker - 27.4 Points, 6.3 Rebounds, 8.1 Assists, 0.8 Steals, 47.9 FG%, 42.6 3PT FG% & 3.2 Turnovers

Kevin Durant - 31.0 Points, 6.5 Rebounds, 5.7 Assists, 0.7 Steals, 1.2 Blocks, 52.1 FG%, 50.0 3PT FG% & 3.6 Turnovers

Bradley Beal - 17.3 Points, 5.3 Rebounds, 3.7 Assists, 0.7 Steals, 39.1 FG%, 33.3 3PT FG% & 3.0 Turnovers (3 Games)

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Scorching Suns:

Devin Booker

Book struggled to hit shots against the Lakers, but had such an efficient night against the Kings, that he earns this spot. The Suns needed a big game from him, as we were missing KD and Allen.

Across the two games, Book only took three 3's, but he hit every single one.

His stats for the week:

24.5 Points, 9.0 Rebounds, 6.5 Assists, 1.0 Steal, 53.3 FG% & 100 3PT FG%.

Honourable Mention

Drew Eubanks

Ever dependable Drew.

His stats for the week:

7.0 Points, 4.0 Rebounds & 63.6 FG%

Struggling Suns:

Josh Okogie

The rollercoaster of Josh's offense this season continues. In 37 minutes across the 2 games, he hit 0 shots on 6 attempts and didn't get any free throws either.

His stats for the week:

1.5 Points, 1.5 Rebounds, 1.5 Steal, 1.0 Block, 0 FG% & 0 3PT FG%.

Stat Line(s) of the Week:

Devin Booker vs Sacramento Kings

Game stat line:

28 Points, 7 Rebounds, 7 Assists, 1 Steal, 10/14 FGs (71.4%) & 2/2 3PT FGs (100%).

Kevin Durant vs Los Angeles Lakers

Game stat line:

31 Points, 7 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1 Block, 12/17 FGs (70.6%) & 4/7 3PT FGs (57.1%).

Upcoming Games:

The homestand continues, as all 4 games are at Footprint Center this week.

The Suns have confirmed that Allen will be out vs Golden State and KD is questionable. There's also huge optimisim that Bradley Beal will be available after missing the last 11 games with a back injury.

We've met the Warriors twice so far this season, winning both match-ups, with this next one being the second one in Phoenix. Golden State have lost 6 of their last 10, but Steve Kerr hase confirmed that Chris Paul is likely to be back and available for the game.

The Twins (Mikal Bridges & Cam Johnson) are back in Phoenix since the blockbuster trade that sent them to the Nets for Kevin Durant. It'll be great to have them back, even though it is in another team's colours. Mikal is averaging a career high 23 points, as one of Brooklyn's top options.

The game is on the second noght of a back-to-back, so will likely be a tough game.

We then welcome the Knicks into town. It took a huge Booker game winner in MSG to beat this team. They've just lost Mitchell Robinson to injury, so hopefully we can lean into Nurk and use that size to our advantage.

Lastly at the end of the week, we face the lowly Wizards. This will be Beal's first meeting with his former club, so I'm hoping for a big game from him, if he's feeling healthy enough.

Prediction:

This really depends on whether we can get KD and Allen back, and also if Beal plays. The question will also be does he play every game, will he have a minutes restriction, or will he rest on the second night of the back-to-back.

I'm going to say we beat the Warriors, lose to the Nets, then beat the Knicks and Wizards.

Predictions League:

Any Other Business:

Book Joins Great Company

This week Booker scored his 13,000th point. In doing so he became just the 4th player to reach 13,000 points and over 1,000 3-pointers, before turning 28 years old. The list includes, Beal, Durant, Harden and now Booker.

Kevin Durant Makes History Again

The Suns did not win the IST, however Durant was voted onto the first ever IST All-NBA Team.

Across the tournament he averaged, 34.5 Points, 7.3 Rebounds, 6.8 Assists, 60.9 FG% & 69.6 3PT FG%.

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