Join us as we review the highs and lows of the last week, as well as previewing the week ahead.
Week 8: 9-15 December 2024
Week Record: 2-0
Overall Record: 14-11. 6th in the Western Conference.
Games Played and Results:
W - 134 - 126 Vs Utah Jazz
W - 116 - 109 Vs Portland Trail Blazers
Centre of The Sun
What a difference a week (and a Kevin Durant) makes.
Things fell into place very well for the Suns as the NBA Cup caused a good gap between games, which meant KD had time to heal and then his return coincides with the beginning of an easier part of our schedule - perfect!
(We'll ignore Bradley Beal missing the 2 games)
Glancing back at last week's edition, where I spoke about our record with and without Durant, having him back in the line-up this week, has taken out record to 13-2 with him playing. His presence seemed to rejuvenate Book, as he led us with 34 against Utah and 28 against Portland.
The shooting vs Jazz was incredible, from both teams. The Suns shot 52.8% overall and 61.9% in the first half. The Suns cooled off in the 2nd half, but the Jazz didn't which allowed them to keep the game close. Luckily Tyus Jones and former Jazz O'Neale stayed hot all night and led us to victory.
The Suns had another hot start against the Blazers, building a 13 point lead but took their foot off the gas and allowed the Blazers to reduce the lead to 6 at the half. Phoenix then opened the 3rd very sloppily, turning the ball over and having a 1 for 8 shooting stretch. The Blazers ended up winning the middle 2 quarters. The Suns played a solid 4th to secure the win.
I can't think of anything else that happened this week..... Oh yeah, Jimmy Butler to the Suns rumours 🤯
Superstar Watch (Season stats):
Devin Booker - 25.4 Points, 3.7 Rebounds, 6.4 Assists, 1.1 Steals, 43.7 FG%, 35.0 3PT FG% & 2.3 Turnovers
Kevin Durant - 25.7 Points, 6.5 Rebounds, 3.7 Assists, 0.6 Steals, 1.3 Blocks, 51.9 FG%, 41.3 3PT FG% & 3.0 Turnovers
Bradley Beal - 17.8 Points, 4.2 Rebounds, 3.3 Assists, 1.1 Steals, 0.7 Blocks, 49.3 FG%, 36.0 3PT FG% & 2.3 Turnovers
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Scorching Suns:
Tyus Jones
Another fantastic week for Tyus, he's really found his place in the offense, being able to set people up, but also be aggressive with his own shot.
Taking it back to the Orlando and Utah games, he hit 5 three's in each game, which is the first time in his career that he's hit 5 three's in back to back games.
His stats for the week:
19.0 Points, 3.5 Rebounds, 7.5 Assists, 77.8 FG% & 80.0 3PT FG%
Royce O'Neale
Royce keeps his spot in this section for the 3rd week in a row! Although KD was back, he kept his place in the starting line-up as Beal missed both games this week.
It felt as though every 3 he took this week would go in and the timing of some of them was perfect when the team were having some of their offensive slumps.
His stats for the week:
15.0 Points, 4.0 Rebounds, 3.5 Assists, 55.0 FG% & 53.3 3PT FG%
Struggling Suns:
We genuinely didn't have anyone with a bad shooting week. The closest was Monte Morris, who didn't take enough shots for it to be a huge detriment and he always does positive things while on the court.
Maybe the Suns' or just Nurk's 3rd quarter against the Blazers could go here?
I'm going to take a by here, if you don't mind 🤜🤛
Stat Line(s) of the Week:
Tyus Jones vs Utah Jazz
It was hard to choose between Ty's performance here or vs Portland, as he only missed 1 shot. In the end I went with his double-double against Utah.
Game stat line:
19 Points, 3 Rebounds, 11 Assists, 0 Turnovers, 6/9 FGs (66.7%) & 5/7 3PT FGs (71.4%).
Royce O'Neale vs Utah Jazz
Game stat line:
17 Points, 4 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 6/11 FGs (54.5%) & 5/9 3PT FGs (55.6%).
Rookie Watch (Season stats):
Ryan Dunn - 21 games, 9 starts
6.2 Points, 2.6 Rebounds, 0.7 Assists, 0.5 Steals, 0.6 Blocks, 42.9 FG%, 31.6 3PT FG% & 0.6 Turnovers
Oso Igodharo - 20 games, 2 starts
4.2 Points, 3.9 Rebounds, 1.0 Assists, 0.5 Steals, 0.3 Blocks, 61.7 FG%, 0.0 3PT FG% (0 attempts) & 0.6 Turnovers
Jalen Bridges - 2 games
0.5 Points, 0.5 Rebounds, 0.0 Assists, 0.0 Steals, 0.0 Blocks, 0.0 FG%, 0.0 3PT FG% & 1.0 Turnovers
Upcoming Games:
Another 2 game slate thanks to the NBA Cup.
Here are the UK tip-off times:
The Pacers are not as hot as they were this time last season, but Pascal Siakam always seems to cause us problems. Haliburton, although having a bit of a down season, is still excellent.
They're currently 8th in the East and have gone 5-5 over their last 10 games.
The 2nd game of the week is the Pistons, who are starting to see improvement under a new coach and having Cade Cunningham around and off the injured list. Cunningham is having a break-out season so far and has led the team to 10th in the East.
Prediction:
Suns are on a role and I see 2 wins incoming!
Predictions League:
Other Suns Stuff:
The Original Sun Passes Away
The Suns announced that Dick Van Arsdale, the 1st ever Suns player, sadly passed away earlier this week. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.
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