On a weeklong road trip, the Suns won three of their four games, improving to 31-14 for second-best place in the Western Conference and third-best overall win. That game week, Phoenix held its best road game record in the league with a score of 16: 6.
The Suns traveled to the east coast to play heat, magic, birds of prey, and hornets, and to test how they would react after losing a few games after the All-Star game. The test would be particularly difficult if you had to face mostly competitive teams on the street and back to back in the mix.
The Phoenix Suns’ weeklong road trip that began with Miami was good, bad, and ugly.
In the first game of the road trip, Phoenix traveled to Miami to face a heat team hungry to end their three game defeat. Phoenix played their best game of the week, winning 110-100 both offensively and defensively.
Against the defending champions of the Eastern Conference, the Suns took up the fight in the heat. The Suns have run their business to the point that Devin Booker and Chris Paul have had some rest since that game, the first of two consecutive games.
This game also marked the debut of striker Torrey Craig. He joined the team after Phoenix sent Milwaukee cash considerations the other way.
The good
Keep Miami to 100 points
The defense kept Miami 41% off the field and 36% off three. The suns kept Miami’s biggest stars in check throughout the game. They are perfect this season when the suns keep their opponents below 100 points.
The suns never gave the heat a real chance to sneak back in and repeat the game. The ancient suns could never safely take the lead, but this new version is an offensive juggernaut. Forcing 13 wagers is usually what winning teams do in games.
Defense wins games and has been key for Phoenix this season, an area that they struggled with badly last season.
Efficient shooting
The suns brought their shooting shoes to this game. The team finished the game 50% off the field and started the game early from 3. The Suns were a good three-point shooting team, and in this game they jumped ahead to take their lead.
The bench for Phoenix scored 37 points, relieving the starters to rest before a quick turnaround against Orlando.
Torrey Craig had 10 points off the bench on his debut. Known for his defense, when he can score 8-10 per game, he becomes a valued role-player for Phoenix.
The bad
Get to the free throw line
The suns only tried nine free throws. Referees never seem to side with Phoenix, but this season they have been particularly unfavorable. After a first class free throw season, the Suns have many easy points on the line.
It is not possible for the suns to get the referees on their side, but can be more aggressive to attack the basket and make more contact, which gives the referees more chances of calling fouls.
The ugly one
Defense of Kendrick Nunn
In such a balanced game, it’s hard to figure out something ugly. One player the Suns couldn’t hold was Kendrick Nunn, the Miami security guard. He finished the game with 25 points. Nunn hit five 3s and shot 51% off the field.
The Suns did a good job keeping everyone in Miami at bay except Nunn. Fortunately, there was enough in this game. The heat never really threatened the lead, but Nunn kept the game from becoming a blowout.
Comments are closed.