Phoenix Suns - Weekly Roundup - Week 19
- Matt Elvy
- Mar 1, 2022
- 5 min read
Join us as we review the highs and lows of the last week, as well as previewing the week ahead.
Week 19: 21-27 February 2022
Week Record: 1-2
Overall Record: 49-12. 1st in Western Conference & NBA.
Games Played and Results:
W - 124 - 104 Vs OKC Thunder
L - 117 - 102 Vs New Orleans Pelicans
L - 114 - 118 Vs Utah Jazz
Our 1st 3 games without CP3 were full of ups and downs.
We started on the road in OKC, which was a good game to get started on. The Thunder, being one of the more inexperienced teams in the league, allowed the Suns to run some plays and sets without CP, allowing Book to find his inner point guard again and boy, did he find it. He had 25 points, a season high 12 assists and a career high 6 steals. Cam Johnson started in place of the injured Paul and contributed 21 points, as did Mikal Bridges.
The night after we were back home to face the Pelicans, a tougher opponent than their record and conference position would suggest. Book had 30 and Ayton 20, but we struggled from 3 and were completely out of sorts on the defensive end. At least we can blame the schedule for this one.
Lastly we had the Jazz in a UK friendly 8:30pm tip-off time. Unlike our 1st 2 meetings (both Suns wins) the Jazz were at full strength this time. Momentum in the 1st half was clearly with the Suns and they took a 4 point lead in to the 2nd half. They were back to their normal effort level on the defensive end as well. The 2nd half was back and forth all the way, but Mitchell caught fire and launched a hail Mary 3 which banked in at the end of the shot clock, which summed up the 2nd half for the Suns. He also had back up from 6th man of the year Jordan Clarkson, who owned the 4th quarter. Book held his own, getting us to within 3 in the closing seconds of the game. We had a chance to tie it on what would have been the final possession of the game, but there was a mis-communication. The team didn't call a time-out and amongst the scramble, Jae Crowder threw the ball to Booker out on the wing, but it sailed over his head an in to the crowd. Conley of the Jazz then hit a free throw, increasing their lead to 4, with less than a second left.
Superstar Watch (Season stats):
Booker - 25.6 Points, 5.2 Rebounds, 4.6 Assists, 1.1 Steal, 44.8 FG%, 36.8 3PT FG% 2.4 Turnovers
Chris Paul (Out with Injury) - 14.9 Points, 4.5 Rebounds, 10.7 Assists, 1.9 Steals 48.7 FG%, 33.0 3PT FG%, 2.4 Turnovers
Scorching Suns:
Cam Johnson
It seems like every time Cam slips in to the starting line-up, he slips in to this section of the roundup. He's been our 2nd leading scorer behind Book and even found time to serve lemonade to Suns fans on Monday.
His stats for the week:
19.7 Points, 3.0 Rebounds, 3.7 Assists, 52.9 FG% & 45.8 3PT FG%.
Deandre Ayton
Ayton shot an incredible 71.9% from the field this past week. That included 2 3-pointers, as well as many mid-range jump shots - lets hope he doesn't fall too in love with that shot though, as we've seen that it can become inefficient for him. We also need him to get after the boards again.
His stats for the week:
16.3 Points, 6.7 Rebounds, 1.3 Assists, 71.9 FG% & 100.0 3PT FG%.
Struggling Suns:
Torrey Craig
Most people loved the news that Craig was joining the Suns again, but can someone tell that to his shooting please? He only hit 1 shot this week - a 3 against OKC and is only 4/19 from 3 since re-joining the team.
His stats for the week:
1.7 Points, 5.7 Rebounds, 0.7 Assists, 0.71 FG% & 0.91 3PT FG%.
Stat Line(s) of the Week:
Devin Booker Vs OKC Thunder
Game stat line:
25 Points, 5 Rebounds, 12 Assists, 6 Steals (Career High), 9/16 FGs (56.3%) & 1/4 3PT FG (25.0%).
Honourable mentions:
Cam Johnson Vs Utah Jazz
Game stat line:
23 Points, 4 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 7/11 FGs (63.6%) & 4/6 3PT FG (66.7%).
Upcoming Games:
We have 3 games this week.
The Blazers are a shell of the team we've seen in recent seasons. Dame is out injured, Nurkic has been shut down for the season (no change there) and as we saw last week, McCollum is now in New Orleans.
They've been on a bit of a role in their last 5 games, beating the Knicks, Bucks & Grizzlies, before losing to the Warriors and Nuggets.
We've faced the Blazers 3 times already, winning 2 and losing in the 1st meeting when we got off to the odd 1-3 start.
Next we face the Knicks who, as of writing (Tuesday), are on a 5 game losing streak. They really are one of the strangest stories of the season, after showing so much promise last year. We faced them previously in the Garden back in November, winning by 21.
Last game of the week is away to the Milwaukee Bucks. This'll be our 1st time back in Milwaukee since losing game 6 of the NBA Finals.
Our 1st meeting this season was a couple of weeks ago, where we blew them out by 24, at home in Phoenix. This time though, we are without Chris Paul and playing in Milwaukee is no easy task.
This is another nice early one for us UK fans, with tip-off at 8:30pm on Sunday. It'll be live on Sky Sports, as well as free on their YouTube channel.
Predictions:
I'm going to go with wins against the Blazers and Knicks and a loss to the Bucks, so 2-1.
Predictions League:
Any Other Business:
Book Breaking Records
Booker's performance against the Thunder helped him pass Steve Nash for 7th place on the all-time Suns scoring list.
His final stats of that game of 25 points, 12 assists & 6 steals make him the 1st player in Suns history to have that stat line. This also made him the 1st Suns player since Jason Kidd to have 25+ points, 10+ assist & 5+ steals.
The game also marked his 32nd career double-double.
Go On My Suns!
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