Phoenix Suns basketball is back tonight when the Suns travel to take on the Los Angeles Clippers in the brand-new Intuit Dome in both teams’ regular season opener.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Last season, the Clippers had the Suns’ number in the three games they played without resting players, winning by an average margin of 16.3 points in those meetings. However, Los Angeles, who finished last season with a 51-31 record and lost 4-2 to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs, looks a lot different than it did last season on opening night.
L.A. lost Paul George in free agency to the Philadelphia 76ers, and Kawhi Leonard is out indefinitely as he recovers from a knee injury suffered at the end of last season. The Clippers also traded Russell Westbrook to the Denver Nuggets this summer, leaving them with James Harden to lead a projected starting group of himself, Terance Mann, Norman Powell, free-agency add Derrick Jones Jr. and Ivica Zubac. Los Angeles played its starters four games (some five) in the preseason and finished the preseason 4-1 overall.
Phoenix still has a lot of respect for this iteration of the Clippers.
“They are well-rounded, from top to bottom.”
Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker talking about the Los Angeles Clippers and how their roster has a bunch of players who excel in defending.#SunsUp #NBA #ClipperNation pic.twitter.com/xGduTsOAv9
— Burn City Suns ☀️ (@BurnCitySuns) October 22, 2024
The Suns, who ended as the No. 6 seed in the West with a 49-33 record and were swept in the first round of the playoffs last season, still have three of the premier offensive players in the NBA with Kevin Durant, Booker and Bradley Beal. They kept the top-6 players from their rotation in Booker, Beal, Durant, Grayson Allen, Jusuf Nurkić and Royce O’Neale.
Phoenix is hoping this continuity helps it bond together more this season, as it is led by a new head coach in Mike Budenholzer and a new starting point guard in Tyus Jones. The Suns did not utilize a true point guard last season, so Jones and another new free-agency addition in Monté Morris will give the team a new look this year.
Budenholzer’s approach for his first season is “talk is cheap,” and stylistically, he wants the team to play with more pace and shoot a lot more 3-pointers. This was something Phoenix accomplished in the preseason, as the Suns were seventh in 3-pointers attempted per game (44) and sixth in makes (15.6). Last season, Phoenix ranked 25th in 3-pointers attempted (32.6) and 20th in makes (12.4), despite shooting 38.2% from 3 as a team (fifth in NBA).
Another positive for the Suns in the preseason was their rookies: No. 28 overall pick Ryan Dunn and No. 40 pick Oso Ighodaro. Dunn, a defensive standout, made more 3-pointers (13) in five games than he did his entire two-year collegiate career at Virginia (12). Ighodaro flashed his high-level basketball IQ and ability to defend almost every position even as a big man that he showed at Marquette.
Phoenix now looks to take its positive play from the preseason into the season opener.
“If you’re not a little bit nervous going into any game, there’s probably something wrong,” Budenholzer said of the opener. “I think there is that competitiveness and anticipation of the game. I guess nervousness has some type of negative connotation, and I think it should be a positive.
“Excited about opening night, excited about the team being able to play and compete in games that are meaningful.”
“If you are never nervous going into any game, there’s probably something wrong.”
With the regular season opener a bit over 24 hours away against the Los Angeles Clippers, Mike Budenholzer expressed that nervousness can be a positive. #SunsUp #NBA #ClipperNation pic.twitter.com/iJKtHIWlqs
— Burn City Suns ☀️ (@BurnCitySuns) October 22, 2024
Phoenix listed Grayson Allen (right Achilles soreness) and Damion Lee (left hamstring soreness) as probable, while ruling out Josh Okogie (right hamstring strain). Allen missed the final four preseason games, Lee the last one and Okogie the last two due to their injuries.
In addition to Leonard, Mo Bamba (left knee soreness) and P.J. Tucker (not with team) are out for the Clippers.
Local Game Information
Start Time: 7:00 p.m. MST
Location: Intuit Dome
TV Channel: AZ Family/3TV, ESPN
Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, La Mejor 106.5 FM
Stream: Suns Live (click for more info)
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) October 23, 2024
Betting Odds
Line: PHX -4.5
O/U: 225.5
Injury Report
Phoenix Suns: Grayson Allen (right Achilles soreness) PROBABLE | Damion Lee (left hamstring soreness) PROBABLE | Josh Okogie (right hamstring strain) OUT
Los Angeles Clippers: Kawhi Leonard (right knee injury recovery) OUT | Mo Bamba (left knee soreness) OUT | P.J. Tucker (not with team) OUT
Starters (Projected)
Phoenix Suns: Tyus Jones, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant, Jusuf Nurkić
Los Angeles Clippers: James Harden, Terance Mann, Norman Powell, Derrick Jones Jr., Ivica Zubac
Five Keys to Game for Suns
- 3-point attempts
- Playing with pace
- On-ball defense
- Rebounding
- Limiting turnovers
Prediction
Suns 118 – Clippers 110
The Suns seem to know exactly who they want to be heading into the season, a team that place with pace and will shoot a lot of 3-pointers, giving them an identity they could not seem to find last season. This will bode well for them in the season opener, especially given that they retained their top-6 players and only got better with Budenholzer as head coach and Jones as a new starting point guard. On the other side, the Clippers have a lot of the same players, but are without their biggest star and have a lot of big free agency losses to overcome.
If the Suns stick with this identity that they showed in the preseason, this should result in a win over Los Angeles.
Last Meeting (April 10, 2024)
Injury Report
Preview: Suns’ thoughts on Clippers
Suns looking forward to opening night battle vs. ‘well-rounded’ Los Angeles Clippers
Season Prediction, Betting Odds and Power Rankings
Burn City Predictions: Can Suns capture 1st championship in 2024-25 season?
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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
