Phoenix Suns - Weekly Roundup - Week 15

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

Week 15: 24 - 30 January 2022

Week Record: 4-0

Overall Record: 40-9. 1st in Western Conference & NBA.

Games Played and Results:

W - 115 - 109 Vs Utah Jazz

W - 105 - 97 Vs Utah Jazz

W - 134 - 124 Vs Minnesota Timberwolves

W - 115 - 110 Vs San Antonio Spurs

Two match-ups against the Jazz on paper looked to be a mini series against one of the West's other contenders, however both teams were without key players. The Suns were missing Deandre Ayton, Jae Crowder, Cam Payne and JaVale McGee for game 2. The were missing All-Stars Donovan Mitchell & Rudy Gobert for both games, with Mike Conley, Joe Ingles and Bojan Bogdanovic for game 1.

The Jazz fought hard in both games, with Jordan Clarkson almost single-handedly pulling the 3rd stringers to victory in game 1. Luckily the Suns have the best closer in the game, Chris Paul, controlling the offense and scoring 15 of the Suns 30 4th quarter points.

Crazily game 2 had a similar ending, with Clarkson leading the Jazz and CP3 doing his thing in the 4th.

Booker was a scoring machine in both games, putting up 33 in game 1 and 43 in game 2. CP3 was also great in both as I've already alluded to with a near triple double of 27 point, 9 rebounds & 13 assists in game 1, followed by 21 points & 5 assists in game 2.

Next up was a visit from the Minnesota Timberwolves. I always think in these games that KAT & D-Lo (though he didn't play in this game) will try and out-do Book in these match-ups, but Booker is head and shoulders above these 2 now in terms of talent, personal & team success.

7 of 9 Suns players scored in double figures led by Booker's 29 and CP3's triple-double of 21 points, 10 rebounds & 14 assists. Minnesota's defence was as terrible as advertised, as we connected on 51% of our 3's and overall field goals, en route 2 our 2nd highest scoring game of the season. Biyombo continued to impress as well with his 4th double-double in the last 6 games.

Final game of the week was against the Spurs, who are also battling the injury bug. Despite this, the Suns did not take advantage and instead played down to the competition. As is this team's calling card, they used the 4th quarter to put the game away. Going in to the 4th the Suns trailed by 13, but outscored the Spurs 36-19. All I'll say is, Book is a killer with those back-to-back 3's.

Chris Paul was incredible again, with 20 points, 19 assists and 8 rebounds. Booker continued his big scoring run with 28, Mikal added 26 and 2-way player Ish Wainwright had a career high 10 points, in his career high 20 minutes.

Superstar Watch (Season stats):

Booker - 25.1 Points, 5.5 Rebounds, 4.4 Assists, 1.0 Steals, 44.2 FG%, 38.0 3PT FG%, 2.5 Turnovers

Chris Paul - 14.8 Points, 4.6 Rebounds, 10.3 Assists, 1.9 Steals 49.0 FG%, 34.7 3PT FG%, 2.3 Turnovers

Scorching Suns:

Chris Paul

Who else? How could I deny the NBA Player of the Week this spot?

Here are his game-by-game stats:

27 Points, 9 Rebounds, 13 Assists

21 Points, 3 Rebounds, 5 Assists

21 Points, 10 Rebounds, 14 Assists

20 Points, 8 Rebounds, 19 Assists

His stats for the week:

22.3 Points, 7.5 Rebounds, 12.8 Assist, 54.2 FG% & 58.8 3PT FG%.

Devin Booker

His points in each game this week were 33, 43, 29 & 28. That's an average of 33.3 PPG.

With Ayton, Crowder & Payne all missing time this week, Booker took advantage of those extra shot attempts and also picked up the extra rebounds. Book was also considered for NBA Player of the Week

His stats for the week:

33.3 Points, 6.5 Rebounds, 4.3 Assists, 1.3 Steals, 46.0 FG% & 34.2 3PT FG%.

Cam Johnson

Stepping in to a starting role again with Jae missing time, Cam has continued his up-ward trajectory. With us also missing Ayton his been getting plenty of shots and connecting at 53%, including 50% from 3.

His stats for the week:

15.5 Points, 5.5 Rebounds, 1.5 Assists, 1.5 Steals, 53.5 FG% & 50.0 3PT FG%.

Struggling Suns:

Landry Shamet

It's Shamet..... Still Shamet

His stats for the week:

16.9 Mins, 5.8 Points, 1.3 Rebounds, 2.3 Assists, 0.3 Steals, 31.8 FG% & 33.3 3PT FG%.

Stat Line(s) of the Week:

Chris Paul Vs Minnesota Timberwolves

Game stat line:

21 Points, 10 Rebounds, 14 Assists, 1 Steal, 1 Block, 5/9 FGs (55.6%) & 4/5 3PT FG (80%).

Chris Paul Vs San Antonio Spurs

Game stat line:

20 Points, 8 Rebounds, 19 Assists, 1 Steal, 1 Block, 9/16 FGs (56.3%) & 1/3 3PT FG (33.3%).

Devin Booker Vs Utah Jazz (Game 2)

Game stat line:

43 Points, 12 Rebounds (Tied Career High), 4 Assists, 16/28 FGs (57.1%) & 2/6 3PT FGs (33.3%).

Honourable mentions:

Chris Paul Vs Utah Jazz (Game 1)

Game stat line:

27 Points, 9 Rebounds, 13 Assists, 10/17 FGs (58.8%) & 4/7 3PT FGs (57.1%).

Upcoming Games:

We have 3 games this week.

This week begins a 4 game East road trip, but 1st we have the Nets in town. The Nets are struggling with injuries, with KD out till February and Harden missing their game at the weekend. They were also short of players in their game last year in Phoenix, but were able to get the win. We beat them on their home floor earlier in the season, so will be looking for payback.

Off to Atlanta, where we face an Atlanta team that have unachieved so far this season. They are on the up though. As of writing (Monday) they are on a 7-game win streak and just came off a come-back win against the LeBron-less Lakers.

Last game of the week is in Washington, who are currently on a 5-game losing streak. The Wizards said earlier today that Beal will miss the next 2 games with a sprained wrist. That would mean he's back for our game, but you can never tell with a wrist injuries.

Predictions:

The win streak continues - 3 wins!

Predictions League:

Any Other Business:

Booker - The 40 Point King

Booker's 43 points against was the 16th of his career. This took home 1 ahead of Amare Stoudemire for the Suns' franchise record for 40-point games.

That game also marked another Suns record for Book. He became the 1st guard in Suns history to record 40+ points and 12+ rebounds in a game.

Suns Win Streaks

The 2 road win streaks we've had of 8+ games this season, are the 3rd time in franchise history that we've achieved it in a single season. The other 2 times are the 2004-05 & 2006-07 seasons.

In a similar stat (thanks to Ross - @CanOnlyBeOne_), the Suns are the only team in NBA history to have 2 unbeaten months on the road (minimum 8 games) in a single season.

The Suns are on their 2nd double-digit win streak of the season and are the 1st team this season to reach 40 wins.

All-Star Coaching Staff

With the win against the Timberwolves, the Suns secured the coaching staff's place to coach at NBA All-Star Weekend. If you've seen any interviews with Book or CP3 about All-Star, you'll know that this was THE goal for these guys.

Monty will coach Team LeBron in the main game.

Raining 3's

In the win against the Timberwolves the Suns made 20 3-pointers. It was the 9th time in franchise history with 20+ 3's in a regular season game.

NBA Player of the Week - Chris Paul

I've already discussed how great his week was above - Congrats CP3!!

Go On My Suns!

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