Phoenix Suns - Weekly Roundup - Week 3
- Matt Elvy
- Nov 7, 2022
- 4 min read
Join us as we review the highs and lows of the last week, as well as previewing the week ahead.
Week 3: 31 October - 6 November 2022
Week Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 7-2. 1st in Western Conference.
Games Played and Results:
W - 116 - 107 Vs Minnesota Timberwolves
L - 108 - 106 Vs Portland Trailblazers
W - 102 - 82 Vs Portland Trailblazers
I thought that Minnesota's big front line would have been a challenge for us, especially missing Ayton with a sprained ankle, but I was wrong. The Timberwolves did win the rebounding battle, but we pretty much always lose in that area anyway. The Suns took advantage of having KAT and Gobert having to mark our smaller guys, with Cam Johnson scoring a season high 29 points, including 7 of 11 from 3 point range.
Phoenix took the lead half way through the 1st quarter and never looked back.
Next was our 1st of 2 games against the Trailblazers. They were without Damian Lillard, so it looked as though it'd be an easy victory for the Suns. That wasn't the case though. The Blazers stuck around all game and it came down to the last possession. With the game tied and with only 1 second remaining the ref called Bridges for a travel. Blazers took a timeout and Jerami Grant danced his way to the game winning shot.
The L2M report later would confirm that Mikal did NOT travel and Grant DID travel, meaning Portland stole another one from us.
On top of this Cam Johnson picked up a non-contact knee injury - more on that later in the article.
The next night the Suns were out for payback and they got it. They demolished the Blazers with their defence, wining by 20, but did have leads as large as 29 points.
The team were on a mission to stop the Blazers and had 14 blocks, the most the team have had in a game since 2010. Bizy and Craig led the way with 3 swats apiece. Here's a post from the Suns showing off the block party.
Our starters were able to get some rest having such a large lead, with Ayton only playing 15 minutes and Booker, who played the most minutes, only seeing 29 minutes of court time.
A great way to finish our 6-game homestand.
Superstar Watch (Season stats):
Booker - 27.0 Points, 3.9 Rebounds, 5.1 Assists, 0.9 Steal, 48.3 FG%, 35.1 3PT FG% & 2.7 Turnovers
Deandre Ayton - 15.4 Points, 7.9 Rebounds, 1.7 Assists, 0.4 Steals, 0.6 Blocks, 57.3 FG%, 50.0 3PT FG% & 2.6 Turnovers
Chris Paul - 10.3 Points, 4.8 Rebounds, 10.2 Assists, 1.7 Steals, 36.0 FG%, 27.3 3PT FG% & 1.4 Turnovers
Scorching Suns:
Deandre Ayton
Ayton missed the Timberwolves game through injury, but came back very strong in the loss to the Blazers. He didn't score highly in the 2nd Blazers game, but it wasn't needed so much.
His stats for the week:
15.5 Points, 7.0 Rebounds, 1.0 Assist, 1.0 Block, 65.0 FG% & 66.7 3PT FG%.
Mikal Bridges (again)
He didn't quite shoot at the level as he did last week, but he was still super efficient throughout the week.
His stats for the week:
14.0 Points, 3.0 Rebounds, 2.7 Assists, 1.7 Steals, 0.7 Blocks, 53.8 FG% & 57.1 3PT FG%.
Struggling Suns:
Landry Shamet
Will Shamet ever stop struggling? It's a question I ask myself quite often. I think this is the player he will always be. Low field goal percentage, with the occasional good night shooting from 3.
His stats for the week:
7.3 Points, 0.7 Rebounds, 1.3 Assists, 31.8 FG% & 35.7 3-PT FG%.
Stat Line(s) of the Week:
Cameron Johnson vs Minnesota Timberwolves
Game stat line:
29 Points, 2 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 3 Steals, 1 Block, 7/10 FGs (70.0%), 7/11 3-PT FGs (63.6%).
Deandre Ayton vs Trailblazers - game 1
Game stat line:
24 Points, 8 Rebounds (4 Offensive), 1 Assist, 10/14 FGs (71.4%) & 2/2 3-PT FGs (100%).
Honourable mentions:
Mikal Bridges Vs Minnesota Timberwolves
Game stat line:
19 Points, 3 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1 Steal, 1 Block, 7/10 FGs (70.0%) & 1/2 3-PT FGs (50.0%).
Upcoming Games:
We have 3 games this week, all on the road.
This week begins a 5-game road trip, in which the Sun criss-cross across the US.
First they're in Philadelphia facing the 76ers. James Harden is out with injury and, as of writing, Joel Embiid is questionable, as he's been dealing with a non-covid illness.
The expectation in the off-season was that the Sixers would be a top team, but so far haven't lived up to that.
Next it's off to Minnesota for our second match-up against the Timberwolves. Our key player from the first match-up, Cam Johnson, is out with injury, so we will not have as much spacing at the power forward spot as we did before.
Lastly it's to Orlando and the team's first look at 2022's number 1 pick, Paolo Banchero. The Magic have a lot of young promising talent, but are bottom of the East with just 2 wins in their first 10 games.
Predictions:
It's always hard to predict what'll happen on a long road trip and we're bound to hit a road bump without Cam Johnson manning our PF position.
I'm going to say we win in Philadelphia, take a loss in Minnesota and win in Orlando.
Predictions League:
Any Other Business:
Cam Johnson Injury
As mentioned above Cam picked up a non-contact knee injury during our first match-up against Portland. As he was going up the court he signalled to the bench to be brought out of the game.
On Sunday, the Suns confirmed that Cam had torn a meniscus in his right knee.
Recovery time tends to be 6-8 months, which means he will be out for at least all of the regular season.
Milestones
CP3 passed the 21,000 career points mark and Cam Johnson passed the 2,000 career points mark.
Both of the following milestones were passed in the win against the Timberwolves.
Turnovers
Through the last four games CP3 has had only 2 turnovers, but an incredible 42 assists. That's an average of 0.5 turnovers, but 10.5 assists. He leads the league in assists per game, at over 10 for the 2nd season in a row.
You can also use the code 'SUNSFANSUK' on The Throwback Store to receive a 10% discount on any order you make.
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