Last Week's Games
Mon, Jan 29 @ Miami 118-105 WIN!
Wed, Jan 31 @ Brooklyn 136-120 WIN!
Fri, Feb 2 @ Atlanta 129-120 LOSS
Sun, Feb 4 @ Washington 140-112 WIN!
This Week's Games
Tues, Feb 6th vs Milwaukee at 10:00PM EST on TNT
Thur, Feb 8th vs Utah at 9:00PM EST on SUNS LIVE, ARIZONA'S FAMILY 3TV / ARIZONA'S FAMILY SPORTS
Sat, Feb 10th @ Golden State at 8:30PM EST on ABC
The Suns went 4-3 on their seven-game road trip, good enough to remain in the top six in the West, but it seems like they still haven’t hit their stride.
Three takeaways
- The Suns have now played 15 straight games (19 total) with all three of Bradley Beal, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. They’re 10-5 (6-3 against other teams currently over .500), ranking third offensively and 16th defensively, over that stretch. Their starting lineup has outscored their opponents by 14.2 points per 100 possessions in its 190 minutes over the 15 games (Grayson Allen and Jusuf Nurkic have each missed one), but their bench ranks just 18th.
- Beal had shot just 3-for-11 from mid-range and 4-for-29 from 3-point range over the five games prior to his return to Washington on Sunday. And wouldn’t you know it, he busted out against his old team, scoring a season-high 43 points in just 31 minutes, making more shots from outside the paint (8-for-10) than he did over those previous five games. Beal’s usage rate this season (23.1%) is (unsurprisingly) his lowest in the last nine years, and it’s even lower (22.1%) over these last 15 games in which all three stars have been available.
- Nurkic had a big game (28 points on 11-for-15 shooting, five offensive boards, six assists) in Brooklyn on Wednesday, destroying the Nets’ guards and wings after their bigs switched screens. But the Suns still closed with Kevin Durant at the five (and Eric Gordon in place of Nurkic) two nights later in Atlanta. Seven of these last 15 games have been within five points in the last five minutes, with a center (Nurkic or Drew Eubanks) on the floor for 55% of the 22 clutch minutes.
Only four of these last 15 games have been at home, where the Suns are just 14-11 (more home losses than they had in all of 2020-21 or ’21-22). They’ll play four of their last five pre-break games at the Footprint Center, with a marquee matchup against the Bucks on Tuesday.
Week 16: vs. MIL, vs. UTA, @ GSW
Last edited by ShelC on Mon Feb 05, 2024 10:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
4. Phoenix Suns
The Suns built a 2018 team for a 2024 league. In general, the idea of trading for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal to create a star trio with Devin Booker made some sense. Together, they've been unstoppable offensively. According to Cleaning the Glass, they've scored a blistering 131 points per 100 possessions when they've been on the court at the same time. But all three of their stars have missed time to injury. They are only the No. 6 seed in a loaded Western Conference at the moment. Three very sobering facts are staring them in the face right now:
1 - Durant is 35, but Nikola Jokic is only 28. Anthony Edwards is 22. All three of Oklahoma City's young stars are 25 or younger, and that's before you consider their trade flexibility thanks to all of their picks. Victor Wembanyama is only a rookie. While Phoenix's title window may not close after this season... it's fair to say that Durant is likely to get worse while the rest of the West is likely to get better. Their odds are never going to be higher than they are this season.
2 - No team, in any sport, has ever been as all-in as the Suns are right now. They don't control a single one of their own first-round picks the rest of the decade. Even some of the picks they've sold swap rights on have already been swapped again, giving them the worst of three possible first-rounders in those seasons. They're over the second apron for this season. They're over next season's projected second apron as well even before factoring in a new contract for critical free agent Grayson Allen, and starting next season, spending enough time over the second apron can automatically move future first-round picks to the end of the round. The Suns have effectively bet their future on the idea that they can win a championship in the present.
3 - The new CBA is going to make it significantly harder for the Suns to make significant roster changes after this season. They're already ineligible for buyout players currently making more than the mid-level exception. Next season, they won't even be able to aggregate salaries in trades. If they want to turn multiple lower level players into someone a bit more expensive and reliable, they have to do so by Thursday.
The modern NBA just isn't built for teams like the Suns. Three-star builds were more common half a decade ago, and at that point, the league's roster-building landscape was designed to accommodate them. That isn't the case anymore, and the Suns are going to start feeling that very, very soon.
Phoenix continues to be mentioned as the leading suitor for Charlotte forward Miles Bridges, league sources told Yahoo Sports. The Suns see Bridges, a Michigan State product, as a strong fit with their big three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. However, the Suns only have second-round draft capital to play with. And while Phoenix has indicated a willingness to add Josh Okogie into a package of Nassir Little and two second-round picks for Bridges, sources said, Charlotte remains hopeful it can generate a first-round pick in return for Bridges.
If not, Charlotte now has the upcoming cap space to re-sign Bridges, and getting the swingman on a multi-year deal would surely increase his trade value next season. The fact Bridges is playing this 2023-24 campaign on a one-year qualifying offer not only affords Bridges veto power in any trade, but dealing him elsewhere would squander Bridges’ Bird rights, preventing any team that acquired him before Thursday to re-sign him this summer if it is going to be over the salary cap June 30. So there may even be stronger options for Charlotte to move Bridges as a sign-and-trade candidate this summer as well. Detroit and Utah remain the two other teams connected to Bridges, sources said. While Dallas is indeed looking for forward help, the Mavericks have not shown interest in Bridges or Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith in recent conversations, sources said.
PJ Washington is another Hornets forward who’s commanding inquiries from rival teams, with Dallas among the interested suitors, sources said. Over this past weekend, the Clippers’ purported pursuit of Washington became noted across the league. But according to various league personnel involved in these talks, Los Angeles has not had a meaningful conversation with Charlotte in quite some time about Washington. One source went so far as to describe that Clippers-Washington connection as “bad info.”
Don’t see why Okogie would want to go to the hornets.
Serious question: has Jake Fischer ever been right about anything? Feel like he always reports things that never happen and usually says things about whit Suns are targeting that Gambo always shoots down.
I'm always skeptical of NTC/veto rights. I know we can subjectively see why it would make sense for a player to use their power to avoid being traded, but it seems people overlook the relationship aspect of a player knowing for certain they were traded but still remaining with the same organization, coaching staff, teammates, etc.
I'm sure everyone likes Josh Okogie, but hypothetically, can you imagine the mood in the locker room if it was known that he blocked the chance to improve their title chances? Those missed wide open shots suddenly become a whole lot weightier.
Last edited by Flagrant Fowl on Mon Feb 05, 2024 2:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Send me a PM if you're interested in joining the phx-suns.net fantasy basketball league.
4. Phoenix Suns
The Suns built a 2018 team for a 2024 league. In general, the idea of trading for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal to create a star trio with Devin Booker made some sense. Together, they've been unstoppable offensively. According to Cleaning the Glass, they've scored a blistering 131 points per 100 possessions when they've been on the court at the same time. But all three of their stars have missed time to injury. They are only the No. 6 seed in a loaded Western Conference at the moment. Three very sobering facts are staring them in the face right now:
1 - Durant is 35, but Nikola Jokic is only 28. Anthony Edwards is 22. All three of Oklahoma City's young stars are 25 or younger, and that's before you consider their trade flexibility thanks to all of their picks. Victor Wembanyama is only a rookie. While Phoenix's title window may not close after this season... it's fair to say that Durant is likely to get worse while the rest of the West is likely to get better. Their odds are never going to be higher than they are this season.
2 - No team, in any sport, has ever been as all-in as the Suns are right now. They don't control a single one of their own first-round picks the rest of the decade. Even some of the picks they've sold swap rights on have already been swapped again, giving them the worst of three possible first-rounders in those seasons. They're over the second apron for this season. They're over next season's projected second apron as well even before factoring in a new contract for critical free agent Grayson Allen, and starting next season, spending enough time over the second apron can automatically move future first-round picks to the end of the round. The Suns have effectively bet their future on the idea that they can win a championship in the present.
3 - The new CBA is going to make it significantly harder for the Suns to make significant roster changes after this season. They're already ineligible for buyout players currently making more than the mid-level exception. Next season, they won't even be able to aggregate salaries in trades. If they want to turn multiple lower level players into someone a bit more expensive and reliable, they have to do so by Thursday.
The modern NBA just isn't built for teams like the Suns. Three-star builds were more common half a decade ago, and at that point, the league's roster-building landscape was designed to accommodate them. That isn't the case anymore, and the Suns are going to start feeling that very, very soon.
Don’t see why Okogie would want to go to the hornets.
Serious question: has Jake Fischer ever been right about anything? Feel like he always reports things that never happen and usually says things about whit Suns are targeting that Gambo always shoots down.
There was one summer where he nailed everything and it seemed he was challenging Woj and Shams…he’s not been great since…sometimes there are reporters that clearly know more and keep their mouths shut and I wonder if there’s just stuff that gets talked about off the record. Maybe Fischer reported a bunch of stuff he heard that summer off the record and now no one gives him info anymore haha
I'm always skeptical of NTC/veto rights. I know we can subjectively see why it would make sense for a player to use their power to avoid being traded, but it seems people overlook the relationship aspect of a player knowing for certain they were traded but still remaining with the same organization, coaching staff, teammates, etc.
I'm sure everyone likes Josh Okogie, but hypothetically, can you imagine the mood in the locker room if it was known that he blocked the chance to improve their title chances? Those missed wide open shots suddenly become a whole lot weightier.
I think it matters for some people where their bird rights matter, but Okogie is just a vet min guy anyways. He doesn’t need bird rights like Miles Bridges might.
It's true he is not a big name but let's hope he gets a chance.