Who: Phoenix Suns (5-5) vs. New Orleans Pelicans (2-7)
When: 7:00pm Arizona Time
Where: Mortgage Matchup Center — Phoenix, Arizona
Watch: Arizona’s Family 3TV, Arizona’s Family Sports, NBATV
Listen: KMVP 98.7,
KSUN
The grind of the season rolls on. For a team that’s gone 4–1 in its last five, there’s no time to get happy on the farm. Another night, another game, another chance to build on what’s starting to take shape.
This one’s against the New Orleans Pelicans, a group limping through injuries and searching for direction. The team sits at .500 heading into the matchup, while the Pelicans, winners of two of their last three, are 2–7 on the year. No Zion. No Yves Missi. Any size advantage they might’ve had is gone, at least in theory.
What remains is a desperate team trying to claw back into rhythm, and that kind of opponent is always dangerous. A wounded dog bites the hardest. The Suns need to remember that as they chase their first record above .500 since that opening night win over Sacramento.
Probable Starters
Injury Report
Suns
- Jalen Green — OUT (Right Hamstring)
Pelicans
- Yves Missi — OUT (Illness)
- Dejounte Murray— OUT (Right Achilles)
- Jordan Poole — OUT (Left Quad)
- Zion Williamson — OUT (Left Hamstring)
What to Watch For
Conversions. That’s the word this week. As I mentioned in the Week 3 recap, the team has to start turning extra opportunities into points.
It was a focus all offseason: create more possessions. How do you do that? Steal the ball. Crash the glass. Keep the opponent from doing the same. So far, they’ve done that fairly well. Not elite, but solid. The problem is what happens after they get those chances. They aren’t cashing them in.
Now they face the New Orleans Pelicans, a team that protects the ball well, ranking ninth in turnovers at 14.6 per game. But they sit 26th in rebounding percentage, which means there are chances to be had if you’re willing to work for them. They won’t hand you anything. You have to take it.
With Kevon Looney and Saddiq Bey filling in for Zion and Missi, those battles inside won’t be easy. They’re physical, disciplined, and they’ll make you earn it. The task is simple. When those extra possessions come, convert them. If the other team gives you a gift, you don’t waste time admiring the wrapping paper. You score.
Key to a Suns Win
We’re going to learn a lot about the team tonight. They’re feeling themselves a little, and they should be. The games that slipped away early in the season — the overtime loss to Utah, the one-point loss to Memphis — those were lessons. Painful ones, but lessons all the same. Those same moments are now turning into wins.
Learning how to win in the NBA is no small thing. It takes repetition, composure, and a little bit of grit. They’ve beaten teams most people thought they wouldn’t. Now comes a new test: a matchup they’re expected to win.
So how do they handle that? Do they come out at home with purpose, with focus, ready to take control early and keep their foot on the gas? Because that’s what the next stretch will be about. Handling business in games they’re supposed to win. Those are the ones that define whether you rise above expectations or fade into mediocrity.
Tonight gives us our first real look at a confident team stepping into a game they’re favored in. The first 10 minutes will tell the story.
Prediction
This team is starting to look sharp, even with a few sloppy stretches mixed in. They’ve shown enough lately to make you believe they can handle business tonight against the Pelicans. The key, as stated above, will be conversions. Oh, and they have to keep shooting the three at 37.8% or better if they want to hang with anyone in this league.
New Orleans might be banged up, but they’re still long, athletic, and aggressive. The way to beat that is to make them overplay, stay smart, and turn their energy against them. Play with control, stay patient, and close it out.
Suns 128, Pelicans 120
