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Preview: Suns gear up for special preseason game at Michigan State against Pistons

Oct 6, 2024; Palm Desert, California, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) moves the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half at Acrisure Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images

The Phoenix Suns will have a very unique preseason game tonight after a 118-114 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in their preseason opener Monday.

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Phoenix returns to owner Mat Ishbia’s alma mater, Michigan State, to take on the Detroit Pistons. Ishbia was a walk-on at Michigan State under legendary coach Tom Izzo, who is still at the school, for four years and part of the 2000 national championship team.

The Suns visited Ishbia’s company, United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), yesterday ahead of the matchup.

“Grateful for the opportunity to have the Phoenix Suns play the Detroit Pistons on Michigan State’s campus!” Ishbia posed on X last month after the game was announced. “With the positive impact Coach Izzo has made on my life and East Lansing being so close to Devin Booker’s hometown, it was a no-brainer to bring our team here to have this game at MSU.

This will be a home game for Detroit and the Pistons will return to East Lansing for a preseason contest for the first time since 2018. Pistons owner Tom Gores is also a graduate of MSU.

To Ishbia’s point, Booker grew up in Grand Rapids, which is about 45 minutes from East Lansing, and continues to show his fandom for Michigan-based teams.

Booker was very close to going to Michigan State, but ended up playing his one season of college basketball at Kentucky.

“It was a dream of mine,” Booker said. “I know Michigan State fans might hate to hear it, but it definitely was my runner-up option. Somewhere where all my close friends went. I actually went up there after my rookie year game against the Pistons. I went to Michigan State to kick it with the homies. There’s a lot of history there.”

(via AZ Central’s Duane Rankin)

Booker will wear Michigan State-inspired shoes for the matchup, which he showed off on social media today and feature the Sparty mascot.

What Suns Can Build on and Improve after Preseason Opener

The Suns’ two draft picks, center Oso Ighodaro (No. 40 overall) and forward Ryan Dunn (No. 28 overall), stood out against the Lakers Monday, as did returning guard/forward Josh Okogie and two-way addition Collin Gillespie. Ighodaro scored 12 points and picked up five assists, four rebounds, a steal and a block in 27 minutes of action. Dunn added nine points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field and was 2-for-6 from 3 to go along with three rebounds. Okogie went for a team-high 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting (2-for-3 from 3), five rebounds, three steals and two assists. Gillespie shot an efficient 4-for-5 from the field for 12 points and also had five assists and four rebounds.

The Suns came back from down as much as 16 in the victory, as the Big 3 of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal only played in the first half, in which Phoenix was outscored 69-57.

The rookies and players with something to prove should continue to play well in tonight’s contest. After the win on Sunday, coach Mike Budenholzer said the team needed to get better defensively, specifically in the paint, so expect this to be a focus against the Pistons.

As Budenholzer has stressed all offseason, the Suns noticeably took a lot more 3-pointers and showed much less hesitancy on them, going 16-of-39 (41%) for the game and 9-for-21 (42.9%) in the first half. Phoenix ranked 25th last season in attempts (32.6), but fifth in 3-point percentage (38.2%), as the Celtics showed just how important it was to lead the league in 3-pointers attempted with the right personnel in their run to winning the NBA Finals.

(via AZ Central’s Duane Rankin)

 

The Pistons defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 120-87 in their preseason opener on Sunday. Jaden Ivey scored a team-high 22 points on 6-of-8 shooting, as six Pistons were in double figures. Tobias Harris and Ausar Thompson did not play in the matchup due to illnesses.

The Suns will once again be without Jusuf Nurkić (left middle finger injury) against Detroit. Grayson Allen, who turned 29 today, is also out for personal reasons.

Local Game Information

Start Time: 4:00 p.m. MST

Location: Bresslin Center (East Lansing, Michigan)

TV Channel: 3TV/AZ Family

Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, La Mejor 106.5 FM

Stream: Suns Live

Suns visit Mat Ishbia’s company before taking on Pistons

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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau

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