Join us as we review the highs and lows of the last week, as well as previewing the week ahead.
Week 5: 18 January - 24 January 2021
Week Record: 1-3
Overall Record: 8-7. 7th in Western Conference
Games Played and Results:
L - 104 - 108 Vs Memphis Grizzlies
W - 109 - 103 Vs Houston Rockets
L - 126 - 130 OT Vs Denver Nuggets
L - 112 - 120 2OT Vs Denver Nuggets
What a week. The highs and lows of being a Suns fan were on full display. Despite a big week from Deandre Ayton, we had our first losing week of the season (I'm ignoring last week as so many games were postponed). High scoring from Book, DA and CP3 double-doubles, overtime and double overtime on back-to-back games vs Denver & a hamstring injury to Booker - the week had it all.
Against Memphis, the team didn't execute in the closing moments and Ja Morant was able to make some game winning plays. Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton were able to shut down Oladipo and Christian Wood, respectively and the 2 Denver games were heart breakers.
The team can be proud of themselves though. Denver are starting to play good basketball again and were Western Conference finalists only a couple of months back. We were always going to be at a disadvantage, with Booker out, but the second game was pretty much over once DA fouled out during overtime.
(P.S. Jamal Murray travelled & Book's elbow did not hit Harris in Friday's game).
Superstar Watch:
Booker - 22.9 Points, 3.5 Rebounds, 4.1 Assists, 1.1 Steals, 47.3 FG%, 34.1 3PT FG%, 4.1 Turnovers
Book missed Saturday night's game with a hamstring injury.
Chris Paul - 13.8 Points, 4.7 Rebounds, 9.0 Assists, 0.9 Steals 43.6 FG%, 27.7 3PT FG%, 2.3 Turnovers
Is it time to add Deandre Ayton in this space?
Scorching Suns:
Deandre Ayton
Going in to the week, Ayton had been averaging 12.5 Points, 11.2 Rebounds, 0.9 Blocks on 55.7 FG% for the season. However over this week's 4 games he put up averages of 22.0 Points, 14.7 Rebounds (including 4.5 offensive), 2.0 Blocks on 64.5 FG%. All this along with his usual stellar defense.
This increased performance can only be attributed to an attitude change in DA and this is all us fans have been asking for and why we've been critical of him so far this season. We always knew he had the ability, he just needed to go out and actually do it.
DA treated us to aggression on offense. Actually dunking the ball, grabbing the offensive boards and not looking to pass the ball back out to the wing on those plays. One of the things I liked most, was he put the ball on the floor and drove to the basket. In previous weeks he didn't seem to have the confidence to do that.
His teammates also felt this way, with Booker commenting, "I want to see more. That's what I told him. I want to see more", after his 26 Point, 17 Rebound, 5 Block game against the Rockets.
Book also said that they had a chat on their week off - "It was some minor adjustments that we sat down and looked at together, he was open to listening and it shows"
Struggling Suns:
This week Cam Johnson got inserted in to the starting line-up in place of Jae Crowder, as Monty Williams tried to find a way to jump-start the starting 5's offense. The idea was for Cam to help them pick up the pace, however it seems to be at the detriment of Cam's long range shooting.
In the first 11 games of the season, he was shooting 43.4% from 3, but since joining the starting 5, he has only shot 28.1%.
Stat Line of the Week:
Deandre Ayton Vs Houston Rockets
26 Points, 17 Rebounds (6 Offensive), 3 Assists, 5 Blocks (career high), 11/15 FG - 73.3%
Rookie Watch:
Jalen Smith - 1 game this week.
Smith was removed from the injured list and was available for our second game against the Nuggets. Jalen played 8 minutes, tallying 5 points, 2 rebounds and 1 block.
Season Stats
3 Games, 9.7 mpg, 3.0 Points, 2.3 Rebounds, 0.3 Assists, 0.7 Blocks, 50.0 FG%
Upcoming Games:
This coming week we have 3 games.
Any Other Business:
Booker limped off the floor in the waning minutes of overtime in our game against the Nuggets on Friday night with a hamstring injury and didn't play in our second game the night after.
There has been no news from the team regarding the severity of the injury, however hamstring injuries have been known to take weeks to heal. Let's hope the break the Suns are currently on, they don't play till Wednesday, will give Book time to heal up.
Thank you for reading. Please like, comment below what you think and share on social media.
You can also use the code 'SUNSFANSUK' on The Throwback Store to receive a 10% discount on any order you make.
Kommentare