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Pregame notes: Suns aim to extend win streak against 76ers

Nov 2, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer works with his team during a time out in the second half during a game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-Imagn Images

Here’s what we’re seeing from Footprint Center before the Phoenix Suns take on the Philadelphia 76ers in the season debut of Paul George at 8:15 p.m. MST.

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Pregame Press Conference Quotes

Suns coach Mike Budenholzer:

  • On facing Paul George tonight: “It’s just that he’s been doing it for so long. I think his ability to score at all three levels, his ball handling mixed with his height at 6-8 and ability to kind of create separation off the dribble. Also, the league, maybe not as much of a pen-down league, but a great guy coming off of pen downs and coming off his screens. Then he’s got the athleticism and burst to get to the paint and finish there, get free throws, get fouled with early threes in transition. He’s just a very unique, gifted player. He basically can do everything offensively and he also can fit within the flow of a team, pick his spots and seems like a great teammate. He’s just been one of the great players in our league for a long time.”
  • On using Devin Booker as a screener and allowing him to get to his shot: “He has a knack that, I think hopefully, maybe we’re trying to enhance it or add to it, but I think he’s just got an understanding for angles, timing, slips and screens and all the different little things that go into the two-man pick- and-roll game. It’s been good to have that throughout the game and late in games and then he’s a good decision maker, scorer and also a good passer.”
  • On the good habits that the Suns are forming in the beginning of the season: “Finding ways to win, having the competitive spirit, the competitiveness is usually through good stretches, bad stretches, coming back, I just think being together through everything. Defensively, I think there’s a commitment to guarding the ball, being great individually, but then being connected as a group are the things we’re talking about and finishing it with boards. All these things are areas where we got to keep growing and getting better, but there’s been stretches where I think the competitiveness has been good, that togetherness has been good and that’s the stuff that I think we’re going to lean on as we go through the season.”

76ers coach Nick Nurse:

  • On keeping spirits up in the locker room with a tough start to the season: “I think you almost go through moments like this in every season. I just kind of think we’re having ours now.  mean, it’s super early, we are very new to each other, and we’re still working on a lot of foundational principles on both sides of the ball. I treat it like we play a game. We watch the film and we figure out what we need to work on. Maybe there’s a little more urgency in practice than if you were strolling along, which maybe isn’t a bad thing. You have to make sure everybody sticks together and keeps working hard and trying to figure out where they can maximize their role on the team. Sometimes shifting, when guys are out, you’re this, and when they’re not, you’re this. Minutes, shots and things change. A lot of acceptance, a lot of work, right? But it is early.”
  • On how Tyus Jones has changed the dynamic of the Suns this season: “Well, he looks like a really, really good fit. First of all, he’s a guy that really knows how to play the game, right? He controls tempo. He’s a good screen and roll player. He sees all four spots on a pick and roll. When he comes off a pick and roll, he can spray it to whatever the defense throws at him, he’s going to find it, which again, makes him a really good fit for this team. I think if he can put enough pressure on to score, which he can, if he can put enough pressure on to find the lob, which he can. You have to cover the score and the lob guy, and then it gets sprayed out to some guys who can really shoot. I think he’s been a great fit for them. He’s a good player, man.”
  • On looking at the Suns season so far: “I think great ball movement, right? I think they really got a ton of shooting, obviously. They have some of the best shooters in the league. They’re sharing the ball, they’re spreading it around, and they’re really playing some great drive, kick, swing possessions, obviously shooting the heck out of it. It’s one thing to have great shooters, but they’re creating great shots for those guys too, like a lot of really open lightly or uncontested shots. Those guys are too good to not just make those. It’s a big challenge and the big challenge starts with you having to guard your guy. If you don’t guard him, he’s in the paint and he’s spraying it out to other guys who are spraying it out to other guys. You can chase the ball a lot. So, a big challenge tonight is to guard them one on one.”

Starting Lineups

Pregame Media

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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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