Phoenix Suns - Weekly Roundup - Week 5
- Matt Elvy
- Nov 22, 2021
- 5 min read
Join us as we review the highs and lows of the last week, as well as previewing the week ahead.
Week 5: 15 - 21 November 2021
Week Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 13-3. 2nd in Western Conference.
Games Played and Results:
W - 99 - 96 @ Minnesota Timberwolves
W - 105 - 98 Vs Dallas Mavericks
W - 112 - 104 Vs Dallas Mavericks
W - 126 - 97 Vs Denver Nuggets
12 wins and counting.
Despite the schedule looking to be stronger we were able to continue the winning streak taking us to (as of writing) 12 straight wins.
It came down to the last few possessions, but we were able to escape Minnesota with the win. As I wrote last week, with the best friend in town, KAT and D-Lo were trying to put on a show. Luckily the Suns amazing play in the clutch allowed them to eek out the 3 point win. I thought that game was going to be the easiest one of the week, but due to injuries to Jokic and Doncic, the Timberwolves were our toughest opponent.
Dallas were without Doncic for both of our games and as expected we came away with the win in both. It wasn't all smooth sailing, Dallas put up a fight in both games and the Suns needed strong 4th quarters in both games to put them away.
Against the Nuggets the Suns got off to an extremely hot start, scoring 48 points in the 4th quarter. That's the team's 2nd highest scoring quarter ever. The 1st was a 50 point quarter back in 1990 (thanks to @KellanOlson for that bit of trivia). The Nuggets just didn't have the fire power to compete, as the Suns targeted Ayton down low to get easy buckets over the smaller Nuggets. They were already without Jokic and Michael Porter Jr, but Aaron Gordon then got himself ejected, which helped the Suns' even more. We held Denver to 37 points across the last 2 quarters. By the end of the 3rd it was clear the game belonged to the Suns, so Monty took the opportunity to rest most of our starters in the 4th, which is great timing as they head to San Antonio to face the Spurs Monday night.
Superstar Watch (Season stats):
Booker - 22.4 Points, 5.8 Rebounds, 4.9 Assists, 1.0 Steals, 43.9 FG%, 37.1 3PT FG%, 2.6 Turnovers
Chris Paul - 14.1 Points, 4.1 Rebounds, 10.7 Assists, 2.3 Steals 46.7 FG%, 32.7 3PT FG%, 2.3 Turnovers
Scorching Suns:
Deandre Ayton
In his 1st full week back following his leg bruise, Ayton has been dominant, gobbling rebounds and shooting an incredibly high percentage. He's currently on course to set another career high in that category, if he carries on playing the way he has been.
For the week he averaged 17.5 Points, 12.5 Rebounds (4 offensive, 8.5 defensive), 1.5 Assists, 1.0 Block & 69.6 FG%.
Cameron Johnson
Cam has had a strong week, capped off by his career high 22 points vs Denver.
This week's stats:
12 Points, 3.8 Rebounds, 1.5 Assists, 54.3 FG% & 43.5 3PT FG%.
Struggling Suns:
Cameron Payne
Usually our sparkplug off the bench, Cam has had a down week, following a strong showing the week before, coming off an injury. His energy has been at it's usual high standard, the problem is his shot has just not been falling.
This week's stats:
6.0 Points, 3.8 Rebounds, 2.8 Assists, 26.1 FG% & 22.2% 3PT FG%.
Stat Line of the Week:
Cam Johnson Vs Denver Nuggets
We have to highlight Cam's career high here, as he was scoring from all angles and you could tell that he was locked in. I loved his aggressiveness throughout, especially as he was not forcing any shots, he just took what the Denver defence gave him. The shots he took and made were all season highs, from 2 and 3 points range and the final points came on a highlight steal and dunk.
Game stat line:
22 Points, 9/15 FGs (60.0%), 4/10 3PT FGs (40%).
Honourable mentions:
CP3 Vs Dallas Mavericks (Wednesday)
Game stat line:
18 Points, 5 Rebounds, 14 Assists, 3 Steals, 7/14 FGs (50%), 2/4 3PT FGs (50%).
Upcoming Games:
We have 4 games this week and they're all on the road.
The week kicks off in San Antonio to face the Spurs. This is the 2nd night of a back-to-back as we faced the Nuggets at home on Sunday.
The Spurs aren't the team they used to be, but they are still a Greg Popovich coached team, so shouldn't be taken for granted,
We then head east for a 3 games, starting in Cleveland and then off to New York to face the Knicks and then the Nets.
I'm not worried about the Cavs. They're playing well at the moment, but I don't see them being a match for us on either end of the floor, especially with Collin Sextion being out with injury.
Playing in Madison Square Garden is always a big opportunity for Booker to show off his skills and he has mentioned often in the past that he enjoys playing there. This usually means a big performance from him and we know that CP3 likes playing under the big lights as well.
The Nets were the only team that we did not beat last season. Even without Kyrie Irving they are a super deep team and have arguably the best player in the world in Kevin Durant. It'll also be the 1st time seeing Jevon Carter since the trade in the off-season.
I'm predicting that we win against the Spurs, Cavs and Knicks, but we fall to the Nets on their home floor.
Predictions League:
Any Other Business:
Ayton's Milestones
In Suns 105-98 win over the Mavericks on Wednesday Deandre picked up his 100th career triple double with 19 points and 13 rebounds. It took him only 186 games to reach that mark.
Ayton wasn't finished there, on Friday, again against Dallas, he grabbed his 2000th rebound. The key rebound was his 15th of the game and he finished with 17.
Finally, in Sunday's game against Denver, DA passed 3000 career points. He passed the mark with his last bucket in the game, which came in the 3rd quarter.
More CP3-ness
I saw a cool stat from @Stathead (Basketball Reference) on twitter:
Chris Paul is the only player in the last 40 years with at least 100 points, 100 assists, 20 steals and 5 blocks in the first 9 games of a season.
Ish Wainright
Wainright made his Suns debut Friday against Dallas. He logged 47 seconds and registered nothing on the box score.
Go On My Suns!
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