Phoenix Suns - Weekly Roundup - Week 21
- Matt Elvy
- May 17, 2021
- 6 min read
Join us as we review the highs and lows of the last week, as well as previewing the week ahead.
Week 21: 10 May - 16 May 2021
Week Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 51-21. 2nd in Western Conference & NBA.
Games Played and Results:
L - 116 - 122 Vs Golden State Warriors
W - 118 - 117 Vs Portland Trail Blazers
W - 140 - 103 Vs San Antonio Spurs
W - 123 - 121 Vs San Antonio Spurs
Last week I predicted a 3-1 record, but I expected us to beat the Warriors and lose one of the games against the Spurs, as we would rest players.
The loss against the Warriors was pretty disappointing. We did a good job against Steph, but let Wiggins go off for 38 points.
The win over the Blazers was a close one, winning by only 1 point. Booker struggled throughout the game, but came up clutch sinking the 2 free throws that would seal the victory for us.
There were a few mis-ques from the Suns on both ends of the floor, but we were able to weather the storm, which included 41 points from Lillard. We were also without Deandre Ayton and incredibly, even with well-known offensive rebounder Enes Kanter playing, we were able to hold the Blazers to only 1 offensive rebound for the whole game.
Saturday was the 1st night of our back-to-back with the Spurs. They were without Greg Popovich (attending Hall of Frame ceremony) and they rested DeRozen, Murray and Gay.
The Suns did what they should have against this type of opponent and blew them out by 37. Booker had 27 in just 3 quarters and rested the whole of the 4th. In fact the only starter to see any time in the 4th was Bridges, but only a couple of minutes.
The 2nd game saw only Mikal Bridges of the regular starters see any time. He started and played just 5 minutes. This was clearly so the team could keep his consecutive games played record alive - the guy hasn't missed a game since high school.
It was up to the team's reserves to play out all of this one and they played brilliantly, even with the Spurs playing all of their key guys. Jevon Carter missed his 1st career triple-double by 1 assist and Jalen Smith got his 1st career start and double-double.
Veteran E'Twaun Moore, who is often buried on our bench because of our depth, played 20 minutes in the game. He finished with 22 points and was our go-to guy down the stretch, making 2 big 3's, including the game winning shot. What a luxury to have Vets like him on this great team.
Superstar Watch:
Booker - 25.6 Points, 4.2 Rebounds, 4.3 Assists, 0.8 Steals, 48.4 FG%, 34.0 3PT FG%, 3.1 Turnovers
Chris Paul - 16.4 Points, 4.5 Rebounds, 8.9 Assists, 1.4 Steals 49.9 FG%, 39.5 3PT FG%, 2.2 Turnovers
Scorching Suns:
Cameron Payne
Our honourable mention last week has found his place in the top spot this week.
Payne is the heart and sole of this bench and has clearly positioned himself as our top guy coming off the bench. He's able to play alongside either Chris Paul or Devin Booker, as well as run the 2nd unit. As the season has wound down, we have seen his minutes increase along with his impact on the games. He's hit his stride at just the right time.
This week he had his 1st start as a Sun against the Spurs on Sunday and looked good out on the floor. For me it just feels like every shot he puts up is going to go in.
He averaged 23 mins per game, shooting 54.8% from the field and 52.9% from 3. Talk about instant offense!
His per game splits are 14.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists and only 0.8 turnovers.
Here's a great look at his impact on this team from The Timeline: A Phoenix Suns Channel
Honourable Mention:
Chris Paul
This week's stats:
22 points, 2.7 rebounds, 9.0 assists, 65.9 FG%, 45.5 3PT FG%.
Struggling Suns:
I'm not sure anyone has hugely stuck out, maybe Dario Saric again, but I'm reluctant, as he's stepped in to the starting Center spot with Ayton being out and he hasn't been atrocious. He's done a good job at being the 'connecter' that Coach Monty talks about, but his shooting has been down at 40%.
Stat Line of the Week:
Jevon Carter & E'Twaun Moore Vs San Antonio
I couldn't choose between the two, so went with both.
Carter:
There were high points scored by Carter's team mates, but almost achieving a triple-double needs to celebrated.
Carter's rebounds and assists were both career highs in this game and he hit some crazy shots throughout the night.
Game stat line:
19 Points, 10 Rebounds, 9 Assists, 3 Steals.
Moore:
He came of the bench in this one and was on absolute fire. His 1st miss didn't come till his 6th attempt, but after that he wouldn't miss again.
As previously mentioned, he was the go-yo guy down the stretch and hit the game-winning 3 for us.
Game stat line:
22 Points, 2 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 9/10 FGs (90%), 2/2 3PT FGs (100%). All this in only 20:32 mins.
Honourable mentions:
Too many to choose from this week.
Rookie Watch:
Jalen Smith - 2 games this week.
Smith played in both San Antonio wins this week. In the 1st game he played the whole of the final quarter in the blowout win, scoring 4 points and grabbing 5 rebounds. He had 2 nice highlights, a dunk and a block.
In the 2nd game, Jalen achieved a lot. He had his 1st career start, played the most minutes of his career - 40:58, recorded career highs in points and rebounds (11 points & 10 rebounds), which also means his 1st career double-double. He also had 2 blocks.
Season Stats
27 Games, 5.8 mpg, 2.0 Points, 1.4 Rebounds, 0.1 Assists, 0.2 Blocks, 0.0 Steals, 44.0 FG%
Ty-Shon Alexander - 1 game this week.
Ty-Shon appeared in 1 game this week, recording 5 minutes in Saturday's win over the Spurs. He hit one 3-pointer, dished 2 assists and grabbed 3 rebounds.
Season Stats
15 Games, 3.1 mpg, 0.6 Points, 0.7 Rebounds, 0.4 Assists, 0.1 Blocks, 25.0 FG%
Upcoming Games:
We have an unknown amount of games this week.
Having our Playoff spot secured means we get nearly a whole week before we play again. This week the NBA will hold the Play-in games. The winner of LA Lakers Vs Golden State Warriors Wednesday night will be our 1st round opponent.
It's likely that our 1st game will be Saturday, as the last play-in game to determine the 8th seed in the East or West (NBA App doesn't show which yet) is Friday night. Our opponent will have been decided Wednesday, so it gives that team enough time to rest a bit.
Any Other Business:
50 Wins!
With the win on Saturday night the Suns notched their 50th win of the season. This is the 1st time since the 2009-10 season that we have reached that many wins (54 wins that year). It's an incredible achievement, especially considering there were only 72 games this season. We're one of only 2 teams this season to reach that win total. The other is the Utah Jazz.
We've ultimately finished the season with 51-21 record.
Our winning percentage 70.8% is the 4th highest in franchise history, just behind the 1992-93 (75.6%), 2006-07 (74.4%) & 1994-95 (72.0%) seasons.
Deandre Ayton - OUT
Following his 31 minutes against the Golden State Warriors, Deandre Ayton has not played in any other game this week. The team have listed him as having a sore knee.
I'm sure it's just the rigours of the season, it's the most games he has played so far in a season after all and I'm glad the team were being cautious with him over the week. They (and we fans) all know how important he is to this team's success.
Go On My Suns!
This past Friday was episode 10!
We met Ross MacLeod (@CanOnlyBeOne_)in, what will be the last episode where we hear from fellow Suns fans about their Suns fandom journey for a little while.
You can catch the full episode here on Instagram.
Thanks for your continued support with this little venture. We will definitely be back, maybe sooner than you might expect!
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