Join us as we review the highs and lows of the last week, as well as previewing the week ahead.
Week 1: 23-29 October 2023
Week Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 2-1. 4th in the Western Conference.
Games Played and Results:
W - 108 - 104 Vs Golden State Warriors
L - 107 - 121 Vs Los Angeles Lakers
W - 126 - 1 Vs Utah Jazz
Centre of The Sun
Hey everyone, welcome back to the Suns Fans UK Weekly Roundup!
The NBA is back, and the regular season has started for the Phoenix Suns.
Let's address the elephant in the room, Bradley Beal hasn't played yet and Booker has missed the last 2 games due to injury.
Despite this, the week has actually been quite successful, as the team went 2-1, with the one loss coming against the Lakers, as our offense ground to a halt.
Booker and Beal missing games has allowed our new role players to get more time and get acclimated with each other. This has allowed players like Gordon and Allen to get runs initiating the offense with just one star in the line-up, which is all positive in the long run.
Eubanks has brought some highlights, with a couple of big dunks and blocks, Nurkic's passing has been gorgeous to watch, Okogie has been his usual hustle machine and Yuta is stroking that 3-ball.
It's only been 3 games, but I'm super excited to see where this season goes, with this talented group.
Superstar Watch (Season stats):
Devin Booker - 32.0 Points, 6.0 Rebounds, 8.0 Assists, 1.0 Steal, 61.9 FG%, 37.5 3PT FG% & 6.0 Turnovers (1 Game played)
Kevin Durant - 27.7 Points, 8.7 Rebounds, 4.0 Assists, 0.7 Steal, 1.0 Blocks, 47.5 FG%, 27.3 3PT FG% & 4.0 Turnovers
Bradley Beal - No games played yet
Scorching Suns:
Kevin Durant
Though he's shooting lower numbers than usual, the Suns offense with Beal and Book out would have simply fallen apart without him.
The low shooting numbers came from a slow game 1 and him having to throw up shots in the 4th quarter against the Lakers, as the Suns offense ground to a halt. He had a bounce back game against the Jazz shooting 8 of 11.
His stats for the week:
27.7 Points, 8.7 Rebounds, 4.0 Assists, 1.0 Blocks, 47.5 FG% & 27.3 3PT FG%.
Josh Okogie
Josh's defence and hustle has been infectious to the whole team. For example in our first 2 games, he grabbed 4 offensive rebounds in each game and multiple and1's against the Warriors.
He's currently averaging a career high in points, FG%, 3PT% & rebounds - a very small sample size I know, but hugely promising start from him.
He's solidified himself as the 5th starter in my mind right now.
His stats for the week:
11.3 Points, 4.7 Rebounds (2.7 Offensive), 1.3 Assists, 66.7 FG% & 42.9 3PT FG%.
Honourable Mention:
Yuta Watanabe
Yuta has been the only person on the team shooting the 3 ball well. He's averaged 3 attempts per game in his 17 minutes, hitting 44.4%.
Struggling Suns:
Keita Bates-Diop
Now, this one may be a little unfair, as my expectations was for Keita to be a key guy in the rotation, however he only saw garbage time against the Jazz. I can only assume that Nassir Little has been outperforming him in training.
His stats for the week:
2.0 Points, 1.0 Rebound, 1.0 Assists & 50.0 FG%.
Suns Team 3-Point %
This team is built to hit 3's, however they've struggled to get the ball to drop from distance so far. I think this is simply down to a new group getting used to playing together and also missing 2 All-Stars. I expect it to improve (it was better vs Utah), but for now it is a negative, with them averaging just 29.7%, which is 24th in the league.
Stat Line(s) of the Week:
Devin Booker vs Golden State Warriors
Game stat line:
32 Points, 6 Rebounds, 8 Assists, 1 Steal, 13/21 FGs (61.9%) & 3/8 3PT FGs (37.5%).
Kevin Durant vs Utah Jazz
Game stat line:
26 Points, 4 Rebounds, 7 Assists, 1 Steal, 1 Block, 8/11 FGs (72.7%) & 1/4 3PT FGs (25.0%).
Upcoming Games:
This week we have 4 games. 2 at home to start the week and 2 on the road.
Our 2 games at home are against the Spurs, which means it's our first chance to see Victor Wembanyama face the Suns. Also for us UK fans we get to see a home-grown talent in Jeremy Sochan.
The Spurs are young, but have looked good so far. It'll be a fun match-up.
We then begin an East coast road trip heading to Philadelphia, followed by a trip to Detroit and great news for us UK fans, the Philly game is at 5pm and the Pistons game is at 8pm.
As has been the case for the last few seasons, Philly are a top team in the East, with reigning MVP Joel Embiid leading the charge. The question is will we see Harden suit up for them or will he still be sitting out.
Detroit is another opportunity to see former head coach Monty Williams (we faced them in the off season), as he leads this young rag-tag group. They look improved under Monty, but don't look to be making any noise this year.
Prediction:
This is tough because we really have no idea whether Book or Beal will be available for these upcoming games. I will say that we'll win both games against the Spurs, take an L in Philly and then beat the Pistons, so a 3-1 week for the Suns.
Predictions League:
Any Other Business:
Durant Moves to 12th in All-Time Scoring
Kevin Durant needed 37 points to pass Hakeem Olajuwon on the all-time scoring list and although it came in a loss, KD completed the feat with 39 points against the Lakers.
Booker Climbs the Assist Ladder
With his 8 assists against the Warriors Booker passed Jeff Hornacek to be 6th on the Suns assist list.
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