Phoenix Suns - Weekly Roundup - Week 17
- Matt Elvy
- Apr 19, 2021
- 5 min read
Join us as we review the highs and lows of the last week, as well as previewing the week ahead.
Week 17: 12 April - 18 April 2021
Week Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 40-16. 2nd in Western Conference & NBA.
Games Played and Results:
W - 126 - 120 Vs Houston Rockets
W - 106 - 86 Vs Miami Heat
W - 122 - 114 Vs Sacramento Kings
L - 85 - 111 Vs San Antonio Spurs
We went 3-1 on a week that we could have easily gone 4-0. I thought the Heat game would be the one we may lose, by I was proven wrong - it was the Spurs that bit us in the butt. More on that below.
Not much we can say about the Spurs game. As fans we're were completely confused and let down by the team's performance, or lack thereof. I was so perplexed I couldn't write a review of the game - sorry about that.
No one played well and it just felt like the mid 00's again - damn I hate the Spurs!
Superstar Watch:
Booker - 25.5 Points, 4.1 Rebounds, 4.5 Assists, 0.9 Steals, 48.5 FG%, 34.9 3PT FG%, 3.2 Turnovers
Chris Paul - 15.6 Points, 4.6 Rebounds, 8.7 Assists, 1.5 Steals 48.4 FG%, 36.2 3PT FG%, 2.1 Turnovers
Scorching Suns:
Jevon Carter
What a week for Jevon Carter. He's been almost an after thought at times this season, as his shooting hasn't been on the same level as last year.
In post-game interviews last week he mentioned that the coaching staff and team mates have been telling him to shoot and he definitely listened to them this week.
This past week he's averaged 20.2 minutes, 12 points on 60 FG%, 52.2 3PT FG% on 5.8 attempts. All of these are up compared to the rest of the season where he's only averaged 10 minutes, 3.8 points on 38 FG% and 32.9% from 3.
Honourable Mention:
Deandre Ayton
Deandre Ayton3 week for DA. This week he averaged 17.8 points on 72.1% from the field, 10.3 rebounds with 4.8 of those coming from the offensive boards.
Struggling Suns:
Everyone apart from Jevon Carter against the Spurs
Sorry I'm still reeling after that loss!
Stat Line of the Week:
Deandre Ayton vs Kings
Ayton was great in this game and the Kings did not have an answer for him. In the last 5 minutes of the game DA posted 10 points and 4 rebounds, to seal the game.
He is the 1st Suns player since Marcin Gortat in 2011 to put up at least 25 points and 10 rebounds, while shooting 90% from the field.
Game stat line:
26 Points, 11 Rebounds, 1 Block, 10/11 FGs (90.9%), 6/6 FTs (100%).
Honourable mentions:
Deandre Ayton Vs Miami Heat
19 points, 13 rebounds, 1 block, 2 steals, 8/10 FGs (80%)
Rookie Watch:
Jalen Smith - 2 games this week.
Smith saw time against the Heat and Spurs this week, totalling just under 9 minutes. He had 2 points, 3 rebounds (equalling career high) and his 1st career steal against the Spurs and had no stats in the box score vs the Heat.
Season Stats
20 Games, 4.4 mpg, 1.3 Points, 1.0 Rebounds, 0.1 Assists, 0.1 Blocks, 0.1 Steals, 37.9 FG%
Ty-Shon Alexander - 2 games this week.
Like Smith, Alexander saw time against the Heat and Spurs totally 8 minutes. He had nothing notable against the Heat, but in 5 minutes vs the Spurs 2 points, 2 rebounds (career high), his 1st career block and also his 1st career turnover.
Season Stats
9 Games, 3.2 mpg, 0.7 Points, 0.6 Rebounds, 0.1 Assists, 0.1 Blocks, 20.0 FG%
Upcoming Games:
We have 4 games this week.
This is the toughest week of the season for the Suns (next 2 weeks in fact). We are on an Eastern road trip and the Bucks (3rd in East), 76ers (1st in East), Celtics (5th in East) & the Nets (2nd in East).
Tonight we face the Bucks (35-21). The last time we faced the Bucks at home it was a close one, with us winning the game by only 1 point. Giannis Antetokounmpo had a monster game with 47 points, but we were able to fight back with a whole team effort. Book scored 30, CP3 28 and all starters scored at least 14 points.
Wednesday we make our way to Philadelphia to face the 76ers (39-17). As of writing, Philly are on a 4 game winning streak, that streak could be 5 by the time we face them on Wednesday. Last time we met in Phoenix, Booker seemed to take the Ben Simmons match-up personally, not sure why.... Anyway he put up 36 points to counteract Embiid's 35. It goes without saying, but most eyes will be on how Deandre Ayton performs against the MVP candidate. DA has been so consistent recently, so it will be a very interesting match-up.
The night after we have Boston (31-26), who have turned their season around with their current 6 game win streak. Last game we took the win by 9 points and really the score should have been wider as Boston struggled, especially Tatum who shot 8 for 22. The big difference this time round is that they could have Jaylen Brown who didn't appear in the previous game.
Now the game I'm most looking forward to, because it's at a decent time and likely to be the free game that Sky Sports put on YouTube, is Sunday against the Nets (38-19). It goes without saying that the Nets are an offensive juggernaut, even with out their big 3 playing together. When we faced them in February, they were without Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and had Deandre Jordan starting at Center. They're a better team now, so it'll be a big one to end the week on.
As I said, this is a massively tough week, I'll be happy if we go 2-2.
Any Other Business:
Suns get 40 wins on the Season
We reached 40 wins for the 1st time since the surprise run in 2013-14, led by Goran Dragic.
Stealing the Show
Chris Paul makes his way up another NBA all-time list. This time it was the steals list. Over the 2 games vs the Rockets & the Heat he went up 2 places to 5th.
Turnovers? No thanks
Since the Wizards game on 10th April, CP3 has amassed 46 assists and only 1 turnover - Point God!
Booker 9,000 points
Going in to the game against San Antonio, Booker needed only 9 points to become the 5th youngest player to reach 9,000 points. He had 12 in the game, so he joins some Hall of Fame names on that list - LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony & Kobe Bryant.
Mikal Bridges Appeared on the Woj pod. Listen to it here:
SI.com had some nice things to say about Deandre Ayton:
Go On My Suns!
This past Friday we held our 7th Go On My Suns! Instagram Live show. This week we had Matt (@postup323), who you'll know from his articles here on Sunsfansuk.com, joined me to discuss the Suns' week and also how we became Suns fans.
You can catch the replay on our Instagram page - make sure you're following to be notified when we go live.
This coming week we hope to have another guest, so come over and join us. We'll be back this Friday at 7PM (UK time).
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