Welcome to the Weekly Roundup, where we talk about the Phoenix Suns' performance over the previous week.
This is new, so please give feedback on what you like, don't like and what you want to see going forwards.
Week 1: 22 - 27 December 2020
Week Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 2-1
Games Played and Results:
W - 106 - 102 Vs Dallas Mavericks
L - 103 - 106 Vs Sacramento Kings
W - 116 - 100 Vs Sacramento Kings
Superstar Watch:
Booker - 22.7 Points, 4.3 Rebounds, 3.7 Assists, 1.7 Steals, 47.3 FG%, 31.6 3PT FG%, 6.3 Turnovers
Chris Paul - 12.7 Points, 4.3 Rebounds, 9.7 Assists, 1.3 Steals 39.5 FG%, 20.0 3PT FG%, 1.7 Turnovers
Scorching Suns:
Mikal Bridges - 16.3 Points, 5.7 Rebounds, 0.7 Assists, 0.3 Steals, 2.0 Blocks, 52.9 FG%, 45.0 3PT FG%
So far Bridges has been our most consistent player. He's been so much more aggressive on offense compared to previous seasons, all while continuing to defend the opposing team's best player.
To demonstrate this, he is attempting 6.7 3 pointers per game. Last season he only attempted 6.6 total shots per game.
Cameron Payne - 8.7 Points, 3.0 Rebounds, 4.3 Assists, 1.0 Steal, 52.4 FG%, 40.0 3PT FG%
Our sparkplug off the bench in the Bubble is continuing his hot play. He has been the first guard off the bench, backing up CP3 and has made the most of all of his minutes, filling the box score.
Langston Galloway - I won't go in to stats, as they do not tell the tale, however Galloway's 3 point shooting has been incredible.
He wowed in his Suns' debut, playing 9 minutes and scoring 11 points. He is a pure gunslinger off the bench and has already had 2 four-point plays.
Struggling Suns:
Deandre Ayton - 11.0 Points, 11.7 Rebounds, 2.3 Assists, 1.0 Blocks, 52.0 FG%, 50.0 3PT FG%
Game 1 - He had 3 offensive fouls in the first quarter.
Game 2 - Only attempted 5 shots
Game 3 - Looked lost on offense all game & had more foul trouble.
Throughout all of this DA has continued to play the defense we saw him playing throughout the Bubble and has been grabbing rebounds at a high clip, but so far he looks completely lost on the offensive end. He's been used in the pick and roll with CP3, but so far he has been slipping lots of the picks (cutting to the hoop before contact) or not rolling hard enough to the rim, allowing his defender to catch up and disrupt the play.
Many fans are calling him out already, but I'm preaching patience for now, while the team get used to each other.
Jevon Carter - The Bulldog has really struggled with his shot so far. He seems to be forcing shots and also taking ill advised ones off the dribble. He's only connected on 1 of the 10 3's he's taken in the first 3 games. This is in stark contrast to the 42.5% he shot last season.
The defense is still there - of course it is, it's JC!
Damian Jones - With Dario Saric out with injury, Jones was called in to action early when DA picked up the 3 early fouls in game 1. Problem was, Jones proceeded to pick up 3 of his own and his 4th, around a minute in to the 2nd quarter.
By game 3 vs Sacramento, he's out of the rotation and only saw the last minute of the game, when we were up by 16.
Rookie Watch:
Jalen Smith - 2 Games, 10 mpg, 2.0 Points, 2.5 Rebounds, 0.5 Assists, 0.5 Blocks, 40.0 FG%
Did not play in 3rd game due to a sprained ankle. If it wasn't for Saric's injury and the foul trouble to the other bigs, I doubt Jalen would have seen any minutes at all, but he did ok in his first couple of games.
Upcoming Games:
(Brackets show UK date and time)
This coming week we have 4 games
Tuesday Vs New Orleans Pelicans (30/12/20 3:00 AM)
Thursday @ Utah Jazz (01/01/21 2:00 AM)
Friday @ Denver Nuggets (02/01/21 2:00 AM)
Sunday Vs LA Clippers (04/01/21 1:00 AM)
Any Other Business:
Frank the Tank is back.
Kaminsky was released by the Sacramento Kings earlier in the week and joined the Suns to face the Kings. He took Jones' minutes and played most of the 4th quarter in the Suns' win.
Please let us know what you'd like to see in these weekly reviews.
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