Join us as we review the highs and lows of the last week, as well as previewing the week ahead.
Week 4: 7-13 November 2022
Week Record: 1-2
Overall Record: 8-4. 3rd in Western Conference.
Games Played and Results:
L - 88 - 100 Vs Philadelphia 76ers
W - 129 - 117 Vs Minnesota Timberwolves
L - 97 - 114 Vs Orlando Magic
Our first week with more losses than wins 😢
I thought we had a chance against the Sixers, with Embiid missing the previous 2 games with illness. He was questionable during the day, but did ultimately play. As usual he played very well against us with 33 points. He had unexpected help though, from Georges Niang, shot 7 of 10 from 3. The Suns struggled to score totalling only 88 points, and hit only 6 3-pointers. Already missing Cam Johnson, Chris Paul picked up a heel injury and did not play for the rest of the week.
Even without Cam Johnson who was the key to our first win against the Timberwolves, we were able to pick up another win against them. Book and Bridges led the way combining for 63 points. Cam Payne, starting in place of CP3 added 23 points and 8 assists. Shamet came off the bench for 16 points, shooting 5 of 7. Along with his 32 points, Book also had 10 assists.
Our loss to the was not what anyone expected. Though we were missing CP3 still and Shamet, the Magic are on a different trajectory to us.
The Magic did a great job with their length and athleticism to disrupt our offense and held Book to 6 of 19 shooting. The Suns looked tired and showed no energy for the game, so the Magic took it from us.
Superstar Watch (Season stats):
Booker - 26.7 Points, 4.5 Rebounds, 5.6 Assists, 1.0 Steal, 47.5 FG%, 38.4 3PT FG% & 2.8 Turnovers
Deandre Ayton - 14.5 Points, 7.3 Rebounds, 1.5 Assists, 0.6 Steals, 0.6 Blocks, 55.7 FG%, 42.9 3PT FG% & 2.1 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:
Cameron Payne
Cam stepped into the starting line-up for the final 2 games of the week, in Chris Paul's absence with a sore heel and he has stepped up hugely. This version of Cam Payne is the one we all fell in love with.
If you only look at the 2 games he's started he's averaging 22.5 Points, 4.5 Rebounds, 6.0 Assists, 1.0 Steal, 50.0 FG% & 47.4 3PT FG%.
His stats for the week:
19.7 Points, 3.7 Rebounds, 5.7 Assists, 47.8 FG% & 66.7 3PT FG%.
Devin Booker
It hasn't been a perfect week for Book, but his 3-point struggles from week 3 seem to be behind him. In the absence of Johnson, he's upped his rebounds and without Chris Paul he's been our key assist guy. (We'll ignore the 6 turnovers against the Sixers).
His stats for the week:
25.7 Points, 6.3 Rebounds, 7.0 Assists, 1.3 Steals, 44.8 FG% & 50.0 3PT FG%.
Struggling Suns:
Dario Saric
For the second week in a row, Dario has seen playing time in every game. He is still trying to shake off the rust that developed with all his time off.
His stats for the week:
1.7 Points, 2.0 Rebounds, 1.0 Assist, 25.0 FG% & 0.00 3-PT FG% (3 total attempts).
Stat Line(s) of the Week:
Devin Booker vs Minnesota Timberwolves
Game stat line:
32 Points, 4 Rebounds, 10 Assists, 2 Steals, 12/23 FGs (52.2%), 5/7 3-PT FGs (71.4%).
Mikal Bridges vs Minnesota Timberwolves
Game stat line:
31 Points, 9 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 4 Steals, 1 Block, 12/20 FGs (60.0%) & 2/6 3-PT FGs (33.3%).
Honourable mentions:
Landry Shamet Vs Minnesota Timberwolves
Game stat line:
16 Points, 1 Assist, 5/7 FGs (71.4%) & 2/3 3-PT FGs (66.7%).
Upcoming Games:
We have 4 games this week. Heat & Jazz are on the road and Warriors & Knicks are at home.
The team will also wear their new City Edition kits for the first time, wearing them in four straight games, with the Warriors being the first one.
The current road-trip ends Monday in Miami, before heading home to face the Warriors. We head to Salt Lake City to face the Jazz, then return to Phoenix for a 5-game homestand.
Miami have got off to a slow start, currently holding a record of 6-7, but have just won 2 straight games against the Hornets. Max Strus has been a great surprise so far for them, helping the Heat cover while Tyler Herro is out with injury.
We blew the Warriors out the water in our previous meeting and since then they haven't looked like the defending champions. The Warriors just had an embarrassing loss to the Kings, so will probably be raring to go for our game.
What can I say about the Jazz? Well, they're the biggest surprise of the season and don't seem to be losing much steam at all. They've only been held under 100 points once so far, in their loss to the 76ers, so they'll be a good test for our Elite defence.
Our game against the Knicks, is the first early game us UK Suns fans are getting to experience, with an extremely friendly 8.30pm tip-off time. Jalen Brunson torched us in the Playoffs while with the Mavs and has been playing very well. The Knicks themselves, as seen for some media posts, are the definition of a middle of the pack team, so it'll be nice to hopefully see a victory at a decent time 😁
Predictions:
This is another difficult week to predict, with us and our opponents seemingly all over the place, in terms of the pre-season expectations.
I'm going to say we beat the Heat, lose to the Warriors, then win against the Jazz and Knicks.
Predictions League:
Any Other Business:
Injuries
Apart from the obvious, with Cam Johnson being out for several weeks, the Suns picked up more injury woes, as mentioned above.
CP3 missed the T'Wolves and Magic games with a sore heel and, after the best performance of the season, Shamet was out against the Magic, showing symptoms of a concussion. It was confirmed on Sunday that Landry has been placed in the NBA's concussion protocols.
We are also still missing Ish Wainright as he, along with his family, navigate the passing of his father,
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