Around the Suns - Weekly Roundup - Week 3

Join us as we review the highs and lows of the last week, as well as previewing the week ahead.

Week 3: 6-12 November 2023

Week Record: 1-2

Overall Record: 4-6. 10th in the Western Conference.

Games Played and Results:

W - 116 - 115 Vs Chicago Bulls OT

L - 119 - 122 Vs Los Angeles Lakers

L - 99 - 111 Vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Centre of The Sun

Bradley Beal returned from injury to make his Suns regular season debut against the Bulls. Unfortunately he hasn't been able to help solve the team's turnover and 4th quarter woes.

In every game this week, Phoenix took a lead into the 4th to see it slip away. The only win coming by taking the Bulls to overtime and winning by a point.

Is it time to panic? I don't think so. The team is still meshing and that hasn't been able to happen properly the Book and Beal out. Beal is still working to get his game legs underneath him and Book will have that adjustment period when he comes back as well.

Kevin Durant continues to be great, playing at an MVP level and Nurkic had his best game as a Sun, nearly posting a triple-double against the Bulls. Grayson Allen also added a career night in the same game, hitting 8 threes.

On top of the Suns losses, Suns Fans UK took a huge L. My account on Twitter/X has been shut down for apparently breaking Twitter/X rules, but I haven't been given a clear explanation why and now they're refusing to speak to me about it. The account will not return, but don't fear I'll be back soon with something fresh for all you UK Suns fans.

In the mean time you can follow my personal account - @Matt_Elvy

Superstar Watch (Season stats):

Devin Booker - 31.5 Points, 7.5 Rebounds, 10.5 Assists, 0.5 Steals, 57.5 FG%, 53.3 3PT FG% & 5.5 Turnovers (2 Games)

Kevin Durant - 30.0 Points, 7.1 Rebounds, 4.6 Assists, 0.9 Steals, 1.2 Blocks, 49.8 FG%, 42.9 3PT FG% & 4.1 Turnovers

Bradley Beal - 17.3 Points, 5.3 Rebounds, 3.7 Assists, 0.7 Steals, 39.1 FG%, 33.3 3PT FG% & 3.0 Turnovers (3 Games)

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Scorching Suns:

Kevin Durant

It's always Kevin Durant. The Slim Reaper continues to carry the Suns offense with Book still injured and Beal still finding his legs after missing so much time. He was brilliant this week and was on fire from 3, shooting 56%.

His stats for the week:

30.3 Points, 8.3 Rebounds, 6.0 Assists, 1.0 Steal, 1.0 Block, 44.3 FG% & 56.3 3PT FG%.

Struggling Suns:

Josh Okogie

Oh dear, things have gone from bad to worse for Josh's shooting.

He's currently on a streak of missing his last 12 3-pointers and beyond that has only hit 1 of his last 18 attempts.

His stats for the week:

5.7 Points, 3.3 Rebound, 0.7 Assists, 0.3 Steals, 23.2 FG% & 0.0 3PT FG% (2.7 attempts per game).

Stat Line(s) of the Week:

Grayson Allen vs Chicago Bulls

A huge career night from Allen massively contributed to the Suns only win of the week.

He hit a career high 8 3-pointers for his season high 26 points. He also tied career highs in rebounds and blocks.

Game stat line:

26 Points, 8 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1 Steal, 2 Blocks, 9/16 FGs (56.3%) & 8/13 3PT FGs (61.5%).

Jusuf Nurkic vs Chicago Bulls

Nurk finally found his scoring touch. after spending the Suns first collection of games seemingly hesitating and looking pass, his whole repetuire was on show. He topped off his performance with the game winning bucket in overtime.

Game stat line:

20 Points, 17 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 2 Steals & 8/16 FGs (50.0%).

Upcoming Games:

This week we have 3 games. At home vs the Timberwolves, then back to back games away in Utah.

The Timberwolves have had a great start to the season. Edwards has secured himself as the T'Wolves number 1 and Gobert seems to be back to Defensive Player of the Year form.

The first Jazz game is part of the In-Season Tournament, the Suns' second game of the tourney. They'll be looking to pick up wins against the struggling Jazz to help get the season back on track and progress in the tournament.

Prediction:

Devin Booker will return against Minnesota accoring to Suns beat writer Duane Rankin. Finally having the Big 3 together will surely get this season heading in the right direction.

With that in mind, I'm going to be super positive and say 3 wins.

Predictions League:

Any Other Business:

Refresh and Rebrand

As discussed at the top of the article, Suns Fans UK in Twitter is dead.

Keep an eye out for the next incarnation of Suns fandom for UK fans!

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