Phoenix Suns - Weekly Roundup - Week 18
- Matt Elvy
- Feb 21, 2022
- 6 min read
Join us as we review the highs and lows of the last week, as well as previewing the week ahead.
Week 18: 14-20 February 2022
Week Record: 2-0
Overall Record: 48-10. 1st in Western Conference & NBA.
Games Played and Results:
W - 103 - 96 Vs LA Clippers
W - 124 - 121 Vs Houston Rockets
Coming off a big win vs the Golden State Warriors, the Clippers were looking to take the Suns down as well. They played hard all game and the Suns needed to reach in to their clutch bag to put them away. Booker led with 26 points, Bridges had another solid game with 19 and CP3 did his usual thing, with 17 points and 14 assists.
The Rockets game was way closer than it should have been. It seemed as though the Suns were looking past them, focusing on their upcoming break. As is their calling card, the young Houston team hustled all night. It came down to clutch time again and Booker took charge, with CP3 leaving earlier in the game with a hand injury - confirmed over All-Star weekend as a fractured right thumb.
CP3 Injury
I'd usually place injury news further down, but this is such a big blow for the team, that it needed to be a key subject.
The Suns announced over All-Star weekend that CP3 has suffered a "right thumb avulsion fracture" and will be "re-evaluated in 6-8 weeks. This means he could be out for the rest of the regular season. 7 weeks from now would make it week commencing 4th April, which is the last week of the regular season. Look for then to be a target for Paul, so he can come back and get some games under his belt again before the Playoffs start.
Paul picked up the injury in the win over the Rockets on Wednesday. His wrist was wrapped all weekend and he only played 2 minutes in the All-Star game, clearly just to ensure he was seen on the court representing the team.
Thankfully for the Suns, we have a deep team. Payne should be returning soon from injury and the acquisition of Holiday at the trade deadline seems like a shroud move from James Jones. Another positive - following the win vs the Rockets, the Suns secured at least a play-in spot, heading towards the playoffs.
Booker, when asked about the injury, looked on the bright side of things saying, "I look at the beauty in it. He gets to rest his legs. He gets to get ready for a long postseason that we're trying to make happen." Let's all try and keep that positivity.
Superstar Watch (Season stats):
Booker - 25.5 Points, 5.2 Rebounds, 4.5 Assists, 1.0 Steal, 44.6 FG%, 36.9 3PT FG%, 2.4 Turnovers
Chris Paul - 14.9 Points, 4.5 Rebounds, 10.7 Assists, 1.9 Steals 48.7 FG%, 33.0 3PT FG%, 2.4 Turnovers
Scorching Suns:
Mikal Bridges
Mikal struggled from 3 over the 2 games, but is continuing this overall hot streak he's having. He really seems to have found his confidence on the offensive end. His clutch 3 against the Clippers is a great example of this, especially as that's the only 3 he hit across the 2 games this week.
His stats for the week:
18.0 Points, 6.5 Rebounds, 1.0 Assist & 58.3 FG%.
Aaron Holiday
Holiday seems to have settled in very nicely so far in his 3 games as a Sun, averaging 7.3 points in 13 mins. The shooting splits are great as well at 69.2 FG% & 66.7 3PT FG%.
He played 20 minutes against the Rockets, taking them away from Payton.
His stats for the week:
6.0 Points, 2.5 Rebounds, 4.0 Assists, 62.5 FG% & 66.7 3PT FG%.
Devin Booker
Once again not other worldly numbers looking at percentages, but 26 & 24 points is nothing to sniff at, nor is the 3 steals in each one either.
His stats for the week:
25.0 Points, 3.0 Rebounds, 6.0 Assists, 3.0 Steals, 1.5 Blocks, 43.9 FG% & 36.4 3PT FG%.
Struggling Suns:
Elfrid Payton
Payton has seen his minutes dip massively with the arrival of Holiday on the team. His lack of shooting has damaged him here, as our offense is heavily reliant on shooting from the guard spot. Holiday fits that mould, Payton doesn't.
His stats for the week:
2.0 Points, 1.5 Rebounds, 2.0 Assists, 40.0 FG% & 0 3PT FG% (0 attempts).
Stat Line(s) of the Week:
Devin Booker Vs LA Clippers
Game stat line:
26 Points, 3 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 3 Steals, 11/19 FGs (57.9%) & 3/6 3PT FG (50.0%).
Devin Booker Vs Team LeBron
Game stat line:
20 Points, 5 Rebounds, 2 Assists & 4 Steals.
Honourable mentions:
Deandre Ayton Vs Houston Rockets
Game stat line:
23 Points, 9 Rebounds & 9/15 FGs (60.0%).
Upcoming Games:
We have 3 games this week.
The NBA season restarts on Thursday and the Suns find themselves in OKC to kick off the 2nd half.
OKC are currently 3rd from last in the NBA, but as we've seen this season, the team plays hard all game. Suns have won both of the previous meetings so far this season fairly easily and I don't expect this one to be any different.
New Orleans made a big move at the trade deadline trading for CJ McCollum, so we'll be facing a different side. McCollum can go off for 30 any night and has averaged 28 points since joining the Pels. Jonas Valanciunas also tends to be a thorn in our side. He went off for 23 points & 14 rebounds in our narrow win over them back in November and 25 & 16 in our blow-out win in January.
Great news for us UK fans, this Jazz game is at 8.30 pm and will be aired on Sky Sports. This time slot could also be the free YouTube game, but there's no confirmation of that yet.
This will be our toughest game. The 2 sides match-up so well against each other, when you consider their key guys at PG, SG & C, along with a deep supporting cast. We've beaten them twice this season, both in the same week. The Jazz were missing some key players in those, so with CP3 out, it'll be the other way round this time. On the Jazz side, Mitchell skipped the All-Star game with a respiratory illness. If it isn't Covid he will probably be back for the game.
Predictions:
Usually looking at the schedule to see OKC and New Orleans I wouldn't be too worried, but with Chris Paul out and no word (as of writing on Monday) whether Payne will be back, I don't know how this will go.
I'm sure we'll win against OKC, but I'm on the fence with the Pelicans game. I'm going to say we lose against the Jazz.
Back to the Pels, I'm going to say we take the W, so a 2-1 week for us inbound.
Predictions League:
Any Other Business:
All-Star Weekend
The Suns were represented by CP3 & Booker, along with Monty Williams and the rest of the Suns coaching staff.
Monty Williams was the coach of Team LeBron, with CP3 being on that roster as well and Booker was on Team Durant.
Despite only being able to play 2 minutes, CP3, Monty and Team LeBron came away with the win.
As seen above, Booker had himself a great game. He played just under 30 minutes and was the team's 2nd leading scorer behind Embiid's 36. Book certainly seemed to be chasing that MVP, but that didn't quite happen.
CP3 Honoured
At All-Star weekend CP3 became the 1st recipient of the "Kobe & Gigi Bryant WNBA Advocacy Award". This award is to recognise his "contributions to the advancement of girls' and woman's basketball" according to Shams Charania.
The award was presented Paul by Vanessa Bryant.
Mikal Bridges for DPOY?!
Last week's NBA.com Defensive Player Ladder had Mikal at 2nd behind only Giannis in their rankings. He was the focal point of the article with Steve Aschburner giving some nice detail on Mikal's skill on the defensive end. It's great to see Mikal finally getting the recognition he very much deserves.
Go On My Suns!
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