PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns, losers of three-straight games, open up a three-game homestand against the Utah Jazz. Phoenix sits at the 9th-seed in the Western conference with a 25-25 record and the treacherous NBA trade deadline behind them.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Here’s what we’re hearing from the Footprint Center ahead of the game:
Injury report:
– All-Star forward Kevin Durant (left ankle sprain) and Bradley Beal (left great toe soreness) are both OUT. Durant’s ankle injury kept him out of Wednesday’s 140-109 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Ryan Dunn (left ankle soreness) was probable ahead of the game and is officially available for the Suns.
– For Utah, Cody Williams (left ankle sprain), Collin Sexton (left ankle sprain), Taylor Hendricks (right fibula fracture) and Jordan Clarkson (left plantar fasciitis) are all out.
Pregame quotes:
Suns coach Mike Budenholzer
On feeling after the trade deadline:
“Yeah, I mean, the NBA and this part of the season can be stressful, but to move past it and focus on tonight and focus on moving forward is a great feeling. So, it’s a part of our league. We understand it, but excited for tonight’s game. Focus on tonight’s game and us being great these last 30 games.”
On first impressions of Cody Martin and Vasa Micić:
“They’ve played in Charlotte for Coach Charles Lee, so talking with him, then our scouts, and our front office. The defensive and the athleticism of Cody Martin in the field and play making. Vasa (Micić), is a proven point guard that’s played at a high level internationally. He’s somebody that understands the pick-and-roll game, just has a high IQ, and a toughness. So, excited about adding both those guys.”
On thoughts on the third quarter against OKC:
“Yeah, when that kind of flip happens, it’s both ends of the court. I think taking care of the ball, we always talk about how the turnover sometimes can have that double edged sword, or double effect. We need to get shots, and it can put our defense in tough spots, you know. So, we got to execute on both ends and Oklahoma City was very good in that third quarter.”
Jazz coach Will Hardy
On evaluating previous defenses and the expectations to build on top of that:
“I thought we were pretty physical. I also thought there was an element of people just being aggressive and making a play. There are rules, there’s scheme that every team talks about that helps us all speak the same language, but our sport does require players sometimes to go outside those rules, kind of color outside the lines a little bit to make a play. I thought the physicality that Keyonte (George) showed on the steel fronting Draymond (Green) was a big play for us early in the run. The block shot that Walker (Kessler) had at the rim on Draymond’s cut, Walker actually came from the strong side of the court to make that block.
“Technically, he has nothing to do with that play if we were doing a drill, but I think he read the situation, recognized Steph (Curry) was not going to make a play to the strong side corner, inched into the paint and made a huge play at the rim. So those things are inspiring for the team, they make you feel good as a coach, because you do want them to try to execute things technically correct, but we also don’t ever want to take away their instinct as players.
“There are things that happen in games all the time that have nothing to do with the coaches, it’s the players making great plays and so, if we’re going to get the benefit of those moments, we can’t overly criticize them when they go for it at times, and it doesn’t work out.”
On what will be carried over from the Golden State game:
“The biggest one, and I guess maybe the most obvious one is that the guys didn’t stop, they didn’t quit, they didn’t give in, they didn’t take that, ‘Hey, through 45 minutes, we’re down 11. This one’s over.’. They recognize that you got to play it all the way to the end. We were on the opposite side of that against Indiana and I don’t think the team quit at the end of the Indiana game, I thought we just didn’t convert any plays down the stretch.
“I think it’s good for our team to feel both of those situations, so the next time we’re up 10 with three minutes to go, we won’t take it lightly, hopefully and the next time that we’re down 10 with three minutes to go, the fight should still be there. I think when you’re when you experience moments that you can look at and point to and go, ‘Oh no, I was a part of a game once where this and that happened.’ it gives you a different perspective on the possibilities in an NBA game.
“So, both those moments were good for our team, and it was nice last game to be a part of the side of it, where you get the benefit of the win at the end.”
On communicating with the team late in a game now versus the beginning of the season:
“Well, those end of game timeouts are short, and so you have to get to the point. I think the team, having been together now for a little bit of time, more times than not, they could probably guess 75% of what I’m going to say and so we don’t have to cover everything.
“I think, early in the season with so many young players and kind of a new group and maybe I assumed the wrong things, I felt like I had to explain everything and now I feel like, one and a half things in that time out, are assumed. They know that we need to do ‘X’ and we can just get to the really important part. So, I think it’s, it’s partly them, I also think that, hopefully I’m doing a better job communicating with them now than I was in the beginning of the year.”
Starting lineups:
Phoenix Suns
- Tyus Jones
- Devin Booker
- Nick Richards
- Royce O’Neale
- Grayson Allen
Utah Jazz
- Isaiah Collier
- Svi Mykhailiuk
- Walker Kessler
- John Collins
- Lauri Markkanen
WATCH: Suns general manager James Jones addresses media after NBA trade deadline
*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, and exclusive content. SIGN UP HERE to unlock our premium content!*
Reporter Connor Moreno covers the Phoenix Suns for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @cmorenosports, and on Bluesky, @cloading.bsky.social
