Game Preview: Suns face the Kings, look to bounce back

Photo by Candice Ward/NBAE via Getty Images

Who: Summer Suns (1-1) vs. Summer Kings (2-0)

When: 7:00 p.m. Arizona Time

Where: Cox Pavilion — Las Vegas, Nevada

Watch: ESPNU/ESPN+

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The Phoenix Suns

rested Khaman Maluach and Ryan Dunn in yesterday’s loss to the Hawks, deflating some of the hype and momentum from game one. They fell short and looked outmatched against the now 2-0 Hawks, who were paced by Asa Newell.

Phoenix’s next challenge comes against an undefeated Kings team led by Devin Carter, Nique Clifford, and Maxime Raynaud, among others.

Our John Voita wrote this ahead of yesterday’s game: “Fewer turnovers. Sharper sets. Cleaner rotations. More flashes of what could be.” I will copy and paste that same formula heading into the third Summer League game for the Suns. The chemistry will always be rough in this setting, but we should see some gradual improvement today, hopefully.

There were a couple of promising flashes from the squad in Sunday’s loss, including a furious run in the third quarter, but they ultimately ran out of gas.

Stats from Game 2 Atlanta

Ighodaro: 18 PTS, 9 REB, 3 AST, 3 STL, 2 BLK
Brea: 15 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST
Collins: 12 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST
Wood: 10 PTS, 5 REB, 5 BLK pic.twitter.com/LpIMl9UuXe

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) July 13, 2025

We are hopeful the team will unleash the young guys, and our fans get to see what we all want to see: the full youth movement. Khaman, Ryan, Oso, Rasheer, Koby.... just let us see this lineup once.

Probable Starters

Your guess is as good as ours. No word on if Fleming will play in this one, and we’ll see if they’ve seen enough from Oso and shut him down.

Injury Report

Suns

• Rasheer Fleming — DAY TO DAY (Right Knee Soreness)

What to Watch For

All eyes will be on Summer League sweetheart Koby Brea. He has looked quite impressive through his first two games, drawing plenty of visual comparisons to Devin Booker with his combination of movement, patience, and shot form, specifically off the dribble. He looks like the steal of the 2nd round at this point.

Through his first two games: 17.0 PPG, 54% FG, 6-10 3PT, 4.5 REB

That's too smooth Koby ‍ pic.twitter.com/WXFd76pr6Z

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) July 13, 2025

Another storyline is the play from big man Oso Ighodaro. He clearly looks too good for the Summer League, which is exactly what you want to see from your second-year guys. We call the progress and growth!

Oso posted 18 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 stocks on 8/12 shooting in Sunday’s loss, including this emphatic slam. He looks good.

Oso Ighodaro HUGE slam off the dribble pic.twitter.com/zaTpMv7hw8

— NBA TV (@NBATV) July 13, 2025

Can we get a more confident, comfortable Maluach in what would be game two for him? Will Ryan Dunn get to unleash some havoc defensively? How does Fleming’s debut look? There are plenty of headlines to watch in this one for the Suns.

The Kings have second-year standout Devin Carter, who dropped 30 points in their blowout win over Chicago during the weekend. Along with Carter, they have a pair of talented scorers in Mason Jones and rookie Nique Clifford, who have each had an offensive outburst to help push the Kings to a 2-0 start.

Big man Maxime Raynaud, who many Suns fans probably remember from our coverage of him as a potential target at 29, has impressed through his first two games as well. Isaac Jones is another interesting prospect for them. It’s a good team that should be a strong test for the Suns.

Maxime Raynaud in his 2 SL Games:

— 16.5 PPG
— 5.5 RPG
— 2.0 APG
— 1.0 SPG
— 53.8 FG%
— 33.3 3P%
— 27.8 MPG pic.twitter.com/UXcVmKupjt

— KingsMuse (@kings_muse) July 14, 2025

Suns. Kings. Let’s do this!

Prediction

It’s Summer League. We’ll see what happens... let’s say the Suns win at the buzzer for fun.

Summer Suns 101, Summer Kings 99

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