Phoenix Suns - Weekly Roundup - Week 8
- Matt Elvy
- Dec 12, 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 8: 4-11 December 2022
Week Record: 0-4
Overall Record: 16-11. 4th in the Western Conference.
Games Played and Results:
L - 111 - 130 Vs Dallas Mavericks
L - 98 - 125 Vs Boston Celtics
L - 117 - 128 Vs New Orleans Pelicans
L - 124 - 129 Vs New Orleans Pelicans OT
An 0-4 week for the Suns! That's something we haven't seen in the regular season since March 2020. That's before the league shut down thanks to the dreaded C word.
I think there's something in the water in Dallas that negatively impacts us. It seems that we have a bad game there and it throws us completely off our rhythm.
Booker won the Western Conference Player of the Month award just last week, but that feel like a lifetime ago, as we faced high level, well planned defense, to slow him down in every game. He missed Sunday's match-up due to a tight hamstring, and also appeared to roll his ankle in the Dallas game, so this will have been bothering him in the other games.
Booker 🤝 Hamstring issues
We got CP3 back this week, rejoining the team against Boston. He still looks rusty out there and made a couple bad decisions in crunch time against the Pels on Sunday, but he did get us to overtime in that game and had a season high 24 points in Friday's game against them.
Ayton had another solid week, as the offense was pushed through him more with Book struggling. He was brilliant in both the Pels games, but especially Sunday, being our key offensive focal point, as well as our primary defender on Zion Williams.
Anyway, time to put this week behind us, find a trade to improve the roster (players who signed contracts in the Summer can be traded from Thursday 15th Dec) and get through this injury bog we're going through.
Superstar Watch (Season stats):
Booker - 27.4 Points, 4.8 Rebounds, 5.8 Assists, 1.0 Steal, 47.8 FG%, 37.5 3PT FG% & 2.5 Turnovers
Deandre Ayton - 17.5 Points, 9.8 Rebounds, 2.2 Assists, 0.5 Steals, 0.8 Blocks, 63.2 FG%, 30.8 3PT FG% & 2.0 Turnovers
Chris Paul - 9.9 Points, 4.6 Rebounds, 8.9 Assists, 1.5 Steals, 37.7 FG%, 31.9 3PT FG% & 1.9 Turnovers
Scorching Suns:
Deandre Ayton
DA is always going to put up a high percentage from the field, but it's how he goes about it which often makes the difference. When he plays with force, something we often hear Monty and the team say, he excels. This past week he played with force.
His stats for the week:
20.3 Points, 10.3 Rebounds (3.3 Offensive), 2.5 Assists, 1.3 Blocks & 72.5 FG%.
Struggling Suns:
Devin Booker
From the heights of Player of the Week to well, really struggling to put the ball in the hoop.
A tight hamstring, that kept him out of Sunday's match-up against the Pelicans might have something to do with it. We clearly need him to perform while we're missing Johnson, CP3 works his way back from injury and we await a replacement for Crowder.
His stats for the week (3 games):
14.0 Points, 3.0 Rebounds, 5.0 Assists, 31.9 FG% & 25.0 3PT FG%.
Stat Line(s) of the Week:
Deandre Ayton vs New Orleans Pelicans (Game 2)
Game stat line:
28 Points, 12 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 1 Block & 13/18 FGs (72.2%).
Deandre Ayton Vs New Orleans Pelicans (Game 1)
Game stat line:
25 Points, 14 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 1 Steal, 1 Block & 11/15 FGs (73.3%).
Chris Paul vs New Orleans Pelicans (Game 1)
Game stat line:
24 Points, 8 Rebounds, 7 Assists, 7/14 FGs (50.0%) & 6/9 3PT FGs (66.7%).
Honourable mentions:
Josh Okogie Vs Boston Celtics
Josh has been playing great for us recently, especially on the defensive end, but against the Celtics he had the best offensive performance of his career. He took and made the most field goals and free throws of his career, setting a new points high and tied a career high for 3-pointers made.
Game stat line:
28 Points, 7 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 8/14 FGs (57.1%) & 4/6 3PT FGs (66.7%).
Mikal Bridges vs New Orleans Pelicans (Game 2)
Mikal had 19 points in the first half, which is a career high points in a half for him.
Game stat line:
27 Points, 5 Rebounds, 3 Assists & 2 Steals.
Upcoming Games:
We have 3 games this week, so the team will have slightly more rest than they've had the last few weeks.
Tuesday we face the Rockets and although they took the W in our last game with them, this is a good opportunity to get a win under our belts. The Rockets are good at what we aren't and that's crashing the boards, especially on offense. That was the key to their previous victory, so I expect the Suns to have a game plan for that this time round. Maybe Dario starting again, like on Sunday?
The Clippers have had an odd season, with Kawhi not in a rhythm after missing all of last season. They're still playing over .500 basketball, but many thought they'd be one of the leaders in the Western standings by this point.
Our last game of the week is against the Pelicans again and well, we all saw how that went this passed week. They really are at the peak of their powers, even while still missing Ingram.
Predictions:
I think it's going to be another rough week for the Suns. I see a W against the Rockets, but losses to the Clippers and Pelicans.
Predictions League:
Any Other Business:
Losing Streak
Since Chris Paul partnered up with this group, they've shown that they are very sore losers. This has led them to be very successful in the wins department. This week however was slightly different, ignoring the NBA Finals, we saw our first 4-game losing streak since March 2020!
Book's Jersey Retirement
The lad is only 26, but has already been honoured with a jersey retirement.
On Saturday Book, along with his Suns teammates, flew to Moss Point Mississippi, where his highschool has retired his jersey.
Congrats Book!
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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