Game Day: Suns (1-1) @ Nuggets (0-1), Sat 10/25/25

[Superbone]

Time: 6:00 pm AZ (6:00 pm PT/9:00 pm ET)
Place: Ball Arena, Denver, CO
TV: AZ Family 3TV/NBALP

Welp, here we go again. Nuggets home opener after they lost their first game. In that famous mile high altitude. Hold on for dear life, folks. It could get ugly early.

https://www.nba.com/gamenotes/nuggets.pdf
https://www.nba.com/gamenotes/suns.pdf

Go Suns!!!

Dis • cuss

[ShelC]

Might see a lot more of Richards tonight if Williams is restricted or out altogether.

I hope Book comes out gunning and the rest of the guys play off him. I don't want to see him feeding Brooks on the wing in an ISO situation. That needs to be reversed. Dunn needs to play more, we need his defensive size out there.

Not only are we dealing with Jokic but they have Valanciunas now off the bench so, like the Clips, a lot of size that can play inside or out.

[ShelC]

[Shabazz]

2nd night of a B2B in Denver against a rested Nuggets team is the definition of a “scheduled loss.”

[Kryptonic]

2nd night of a B2B in Denver against a rested Nuggets team is the definition of a “scheduled loss.”

Aaron Gordon's probably going off again tonight.

[The Bobster]

That pull-up airball 3 by Brooks tells me he should dial it back a notch.

[ShelC]

Suns out of sync. Refs called some tough fouls early on but now we're just not in any kind of rhythm. Book can't shake loose and when he has the ball the Nuggets are crowding him. Nuggets are moving the ball really well but aren't hitting a ton of shots either. Way too many looks at the rim off cuts tho.

[Mori Chu]

I miss Cam Johnson. Bittersweet to see him on a great team like the Nuggets.

[AmareIsGod]

That 360 degree in game ally oop was insane.

[ShelC]

Suns let go of the rope a bit at the end of the 2nd qtr letting the lead get to 17. Too many easy baskets at the rim, then the Nuggets started hitting some 3s. The Suns look tired, not much bounce in anyone's step.

[Mori Chu]

There's just a lot of Dillon Brooks going on for our team. He has the most FGA on the team again at halftime (10). I didn't carefully track every shot, but I saw at least a few where he seemed to chuck it up and could have looked for a teammate.

[Mori Chu]

Aaron Gordon's spinning near-360 dunk:

https://bsky.app/profile/ohnohedidnt24. ... 2tnl5eq222

[ShelC]

Bad/forced shots leading to long rebounds, leading to transition plays and ending in dumb fouls. We cut the lead down to 9, right back up to 16.

[Mori Chu]

We had a nice little run here in the 3rd and got the lead down to around 10, but then the Nugs went on a mini run of their own and end the 3rd quarter up 90-74. Book seems to have woken up and now has 25 points on 8/13 shooting and 5 assists, though he's got 6 TOs.

[ShelC]

Bad habits reemerging with the ball sticking and guys standing around watching. Playing slower, Book with 7 TOs now.

[Mori Chu]

At this point I just want to see minutes for Maluach and Fleming.

[Mori Chu]

Well ... some positives:

- Booker had 31 points on 10-16 shooting and 7 assists (but 8 turnovers, oops).
- Grayson Allen looks like he's finding his footing for the season; he had 17 points and five 3s along with 5 assists.
- Maluach got 12 real minutes and scored 6 points (but 4 fouls).
- Ryan Dunn has good energy out there, gets rebounds, plays hard defense, attacks, even though his box scores have been a bit pedestrian, I still really like watching him out there.
- NHD finally got some shots to go in and put in 4 points. Maybe he can get over the new-to-the-NBA jitters.
- Our probably 2nd best player (Green) hasn't played yet.
- One of our probably 4-5 best players (Williams) didn't play either.

Areas for improvement:

- Oso Ighodaro looks really overwhelmed as a starting NBA center. I just don't see it. Can we please start Richards or Williams?
- Dillon Brooks shot the most shots on the team again (18), making only 6. He needs to look for his teammates.
- Gillespie was too quiet tonight, and it feels like we need him if we have any hope for our bench to keep up.
- Royce O'Neale has been inconsistent and feels like a trade candidate to me.
- Too many turnovers (19) and too many guys in foul trouble.

I'm pretty negative about the team but there are some signs of life and hope there. Maybe we can tighten up some of these things as the season goes along. Most of what I listed above can be fixed or addressed or improved. I want to see what this team looks like with Jalen Green back.

[wpmiller42]

I think we're playing hard, which is an improvement from last season, and our rebounding looks much better. I think Book is being too unselfish; while I don't think he is bad at running the point, he's looking to pass too much being in that position. I'd like to see him out there with a true PG more.

[Mori Chu]

[Gladiator]

Not much to say about this game really. They are a very good team and we are currently not.
Dunn and Maluach had about the best +/- which was a silver lining of sorts.
I saw Book get doubled near the sideline at halfway and give up a turnover in the first quarter trying to pass out of it. It is something he needs to get better at dealing with (he will get plenty of practice this season).
It’s tough with the starting five currently - two don’t want to shoot (Oso and Dunn) and one you want shooting less (Brooks).
Book should be taking the most shots but he is also the best passer and unselfish. It’s a tough riddle to solve for a first year coach. Maybe Williams healthy and offering a presence inside later in the season will help, along with Green’s athleticism.