The Phoenix Suns were down by 21 at one point in the first half and looked all out of sorts. Yet again this season, though, they found a way to respond and come out with a victory, storming back to stun the Los Angeles Clippers 125-119.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Devin Booker scored a season-high 40 points, Royce O’Neale came off the bench and clinched a career-high 21 points and Kevin Durant had 18 without Bradley Beal. The Suns combined for 12 steals and 12 turnovers. Phoenix trailed, scored 15 straight shots in the third quarter and wound up taking the lead before coming out of California with a victory.
What did we learn from the Suns after they swept the Clippers in Los Angeles this season and claimed their third straight win?
Here are the answers:
1. Different players stepping up
Phoenix’s bench has a variety of different options who can all impact a game on any given night, and that was on display Thursday. While Bradley Beal was out, Ryan Dunn started and impressed, O’Neale had a big game and Mason Plumlee was effective in the amount of game time he received. The bench has seen multiple players step up and lead the charge, so much so that Bol Bol and Damion Lee did not play.
Budenholzer is riding the hot hand in certain scenarios like when to go small, when to rotate players and when to lock down defensively. If someone isn’t fully up to speed like the others, the first-year Suns head coach does not hesitate and will make a change when necessary. Seeing four or five players off the bench contribute in big ways is a positive sign that Phoenix has the depth to compete against the top teams in the league.
2. Need to start on time
In Phoenix’s three of its five games this season, they were trailing early and second-best against its competition. The opponents capitalized off of turnovers, the Suns would overthink when in possession, the defensive effort has simply not been good enough in the first quarter at least and they are getting heavily beaten in rebounding.
The Suns have won each of their past two games against the Lakers and Clippers, but they were down by as much as 18 and needed to fight back in both to make up for their poor starts. Being behind and coming back is not a recipe for sustainable success and for a whole 82-game season, so Phoenix has to figure out how it can start and finish a full game because there will be matchups where the Suns will go down and can’t dig out of a hole.
3. Royce O’Neale turning into serious contributor
Playing the most minutes out of any bench player this season, O’Neale is making a name for himself as Budenholzer’s most dependable player he has in his bench rotation. With the minutes being divided up between the centers and him used in small ball situations, O’Neale is playing the fifth-most minutes on the team, 26.4 per game. To begin this season, he is averaging a career-high 10.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists a game.
Throughout his eight-year career, the Texas native has been consistently effective everywhere he has been. Known primarily for his time with the Utah Jazz, he has carried that same two-way ability everywhere he has gone and makes an impact on both ends of the court. If he can keep this rate of production for the rest of the season, he may find himself in contention for the Sixth Man of the Year Award.
4. Grayson Allen is still rusty
After being the best 3-point shooter percentage-wise (46.1%) in the NBA last season, Allen has played three games thus far and hasn’t nearly produced at the clip he hit a year ago. Averaging 13.4 points last season, he is way down to 4.3 per game, and has 2.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists. Allen did start in 74 of the 75 games he played last season and now has to adjust to coming off the bench once again, but he is shooting a woeful 23.5% from the field and is shaky to begin the year.
It will take time to get adjusted to Budenholzer’s system and adapt to the role that he has now, but it is not time to panic about his dip in production. He recently became a dad and missed two games for personal reasons because of the special moment of his life. Allen should soon shake off the rust and get back to his best.
5. Budenholzer not afraid to rotate centers
Jusuf Nurkić was off to a slow start, so Mike Budenholzer went to Mason Plumlee and Oso Ighodaro at center for the team to snap out of the funk. Nurkić came back in the fourth quarter and seemed revitalized, exerting more effort and urgency to help his team pull off the result. Nurkić finished with 11 points and three rebounds, Plumlee scored eight points along with getting six rebounds, two steals and a block while Ighodaro briefly played, recording two points and a rebound.
Center is a key area the Suns need consistency from if they want to go far this season. While Durant, Beal and Booker are the players who can produce high-octane offense every night, Phoenix’s defense has to be up to par as well and will look to the big men in the paint to do just that. Nurkić has struggled besides the Dallas Mavericks game where he had 18 points and 14 rebounds, raising warning signs and the possibility the position may be up for grabs soon.
With Budenholzer rotating between the three players, he is going to pick whoever is giving him the most effort on the floor and whoever gives him the best chance to win, no matter who the player is.
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers the Phoenix Mercury, Suns and ASU Athletics for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
