Phoenix Suns - Weekly Roundup - Week 6
- Matt Elvy
- Nov 28, 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 6: 21-27 November 2022
Week Record: 3-0
Overall Record: 13-6. 1st in the Western Conference.
Games Played and Results:
W - 115 - 105 Vs Los Angeles Lakers
W - 108 - 102 Vs Detroit Pistons
W - 113 - 112 Vs Utah Jazz
It always gets chippy with the Lakers nowadays, doesn't it? They keep coming out on the wrong side of that and the score board. Including regular season, post season and pre-season, the Suns have beaten the Lakers 12 games in a row.
Anthony Davis had an historic game, but Book and Mikal combined for 50 (25 each), with Ayton adding 14 points and 15 rebounds to overcome the onslaught.
The onslaught from Pat Bev didn't quite have the same impact as Davis' big numbers 🤪
The Pistons put up a big fight for us to overcome. They did a good job harassing Book all night, but thankfully we have an Ayton and they had nothing to stop him. The big man scored a season high 28 points on 11 of 13 shooting and added 12 rebounds. Cam Payne had a nice night as well with a 16 point, 10 assist double-double of his own.
The game was still close in the last couple of minutes of the game. Book took the ball to the hoop, missing the lay-in, but Ayton got the put-back dunk to put us ahead by 5, securing the win for us.
Last game of the week was against the still surprising Utah Jazz. We lost to them in the first match-up by 1 point. This time it was our turn to take the win by 1 point. Ayton was huge in this game, having one of the best games of his career. He topped the previous game with 29 points and a monstrous 21 rebounds, 9 of them on the offensive end. 6 of those offensive rebounds came in the 4th quarter and none were bigger than the 6th to secure the win for the Suns. With the Suns up by one and the shot clock winding down, Book threw up a 3. Ayton outrebounded 2 Jazz players to get the ball and let the game clock expire for the win.
Booker added 27 points in the game, but struggled from the floor taking 27 shots to hit that total. He contributed in other ways though, with 11 rebounds and 7 assists.
Superstar Watch (Season stats):
Booker - 27.1 Points, 5.2 Rebounds, 5.8 Assists, 0.9 Steal, 46.1 FG%, 36.1 3PT FG% & 2.5 Turnovers
Deandre Ayton - 16.2 Points, 9.5 Rebounds, 2.2 Assists, 0.6 Steals, 0.8 Blocks, 59.6 FG%, 27.3 3PT FG% & 1.9 Turnovers
Chris Paul - 9.5 Points, 4.5 Rebounds, 9.4 Assists, 1.7 Steals, 36.8 FG%, 27.3 3PT FG% & 1.5 Turnovers
Scorching Suns:
Deandre Ayton
Ayton had his 2 best games of the season back-to-back, with 28 & 29 points. Most of this season he's struggled to grab rebounds, but the last 2 weeks has seen him back in his usual form, as he's been crashing the offensive glass, like he's never done before.
All this hard work has been rewarded by DA winning the Western Conference Player of the Week!
His stats for the week:
23.7 Points, 16.0 Rebounds, 2.0 Assists, 1.3 Blocks & 67.4 FG%.
Struggling Suns:
Devin Booker
I hate having Book here, but he has struggled this week with his shooting. His overall effort has been there as always, his point totals have been big as well and he's helped the teams in all other facets of the game, but yeah the shooting numbers don't lie.
His stats for the week:
24.3 Points, 7.3 Rebounds, 5.7 Assist, 38.2 FG%. & 25.0 3 PT FG%.
Stat Line(s) of the Week:
Deandre Ayton vs Utah Jazz
Game stat line:
29 Points, 21 Rebounds (9 offensive), 3 Assists, 1 Steal, 2 Blocks & 11/19 FGs (57.9%).
Deandre Ayton Vs Detroit Pistons
Game stat line:
28 Points, 12 Rebounds, 2 Blocks & 11/13 FGs (84.6%).
Honourable mentions:
Mikal Bridges Vs Los Angeles Lakers
Game stat line:
25 Points, 6 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 1 Steal, 1 Block, 10/17 FGs (58.8%) & 5/7 3 PT FGs (71.4%).
Upcoming Games:
We have 4 games this week, with 2 at home, bookended by 2 on the road.
The Kings have been on a bit of a role recently, going 7-3 in their last 10 games ad holding the 6th spot in the West. Have they finally turned the corner?
The Bulls have had a strange season. They were very promising last year, making the Playoffs behind DeRozan and LaVine. They've been without Lonzo Ball all season because of a knee injury and that seems to have heavily impacted them.
We have the Rockets for our 2nd meeting of the season. We beat them by 13 last time out and have only won 5 games so far. On paper it's a W, but they have some handy players that can go off for big points. It's also another chance for Eric Gordon to audition for James Jones.
They're definitely not the Spurs of old, but I'm looking forward to seeing Jeremy Sochan face off against the Suns.
Predictions:
This week is hard to predict. I think we will take a loss somewhere, as I don't see us going on an 8-game win streak but not sure where. On paper the Kings are our toughest match-up, so I think we'll take an L there and win the rest.
Predictions League:
Any Other Business:
Lee's Shooting
Damion Lee is shooting 49.3% from 3 this year, good for 3rd in the NBA, but what's more impressive is his 3-point shooting in 4th quarters. In the final period of games he's shooting a ridiculous 61.3%.
I believe this is the type of guy the Suns thought they were getting when they signed Landry Shamet to that contract extension last year!
DA's Big Week
I've already gone over Ayton's big week above, but wanted to add that according to Duane Rankin, Ayton's 29 and 21 against the Jazz is the first time a Suns player has had a stat line of 29+ points and 21+ boards since Amare Stoudemire had 33 and 21 vs the Kings back in March 2007.
The Champ's Promotion
The Suns announced today (Monday) that they've promoted GM James Jones to be President of Basketball Operations and GM.
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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