Phoenix Suns lost their edge to kick off new season
Last night, the Phoenix Suns just didn’t have enough in their system to keep up with a power hungry Nuggets team. Their loss to the Denver Nuggets on opening night had the vibe of a team who felt they’d already “showed up” and expected an easy win after building a 16-point lead late in the second quarter. When the Suns took a 57-41 lead in front of their home crowd with just under two minutes left in the half, they must have felt the game was already over. Plus, the Suns had already played the Nuggets just two months ago in the 2021 Playoffs where they swept the floor with them.
However, Denver outscored the Suns 10-1 close to the half, including a buzzer-beating rainbow three shot from Nikola Jokic to enter halftime only down by seven points, and blew out of halftime with a 23-7 burst in the third quarter. The momentum in the game shifted quicker than ever when the Suns had that lead in the teens and then it went to seven quick. The Suns scored only 40 second half points after 38-point second quarter, shooting just 35% in the third and fourth quarter put together.
But their biggest problem on Wednesday was their biggest strength the last two seasons they’ve had: mid-range shots. That night, the Suns clanked those one after the other. Denver became the strongest on the court after that, generating steals and transition points, while the Suns just couldn’t get their head back in the game.
“It felt good. When a team comes out and embarrasses you like they did to us, that feeling doesn’t go away, and to come out here, in their building, and get a win, it’s good.”
Devin Booker made only 3 of 15 shots that night, including 1 of 8 inside the three point line. He wasn’t alone on the shooting problems though— as a team the Suns made 37.8% of their threes, which is a good percentage, but just 44% of their two pointers, not good!
“Offensively, I think we got some good shots and missed it. Missed layups, free throws, nothing that we usually do.”
Jae Crowder went 0-5 and Mikal Bridges led the team with 16 points, but only took 16 shots to get there. The starting unit as a whole wasn’t that great, getting outscored isn’t thrilling, especially by 20+ points. Yet the Suns reason for not performing well was partially because of bad defense. In the game of Basketball, the game starts out with your defense— it’s what creates the offense on the team. But look on the bright side, the Suns newly formed Cam-Sham-Jam second unit played well in the season opener. And new acquisition Landry Shamet was a shooting start, making 4 of 5 shots, including 3-3 on three-points as Booker’s backup.
Next up the Suns travel to LA to prepare for the Lakers on Friday. The Lakers are on a 10-game losing streak. They’re desperate for a win, who knows how it will turn out!
