Who: Phoenix Suns (0-0) @ Portland Trail Blazers (0-0)
When: 7:00pm Arizona Time
Where: Moda Center — Portland, Oregon
Watch: Suns+, 3TV/AZFS
Listen: AZ Sports 98.7
Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines! The 2026–27 Phoenix Suns season officially begins today. All the speculation, theorizing, and hypothesizing can finally be put to rest as the basketball touches the hardwood and we begin to learn who this team really is.
Perhaps it’s fitting that the season begins against the Portland Trail Blazers,
a team Phoenix faced in the 7/8 Play-In Game a season ago. The Suns lost that matchup 114–110, putting them in a position where they would ultimately enter the postseason as the eighth seed. We know how that story ended. Phoenix won its second Play-In Game against the Golden State Warriors before being swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.
Part of you has to wonder what might have happened had the Suns beaten Portland on April 14. What happens if they don’t allow Deni Avdija to go off for 41 points and 12 assists? After all, Phoenix split its regular-season series against the San Antonio Spurs, 2–2, and perhaps the Suns could’ve given San Antonio a tougher first-round matchup than the Blazers ultimately did, losing that series in five games.
So with that lingering in the back of our minds, Phoenix opens the season against a new-look Trail Blazers team. Damian Lillard is back after missing an entire season with an Achilles injury, and Portland has acquired Ja Morant from the Memphis Grizzlies. This isn’t necessarily the same team that knocked Phoenix into the eighth seed last April. But when the Suns see that name across the front of the opposing jerseys, will there be a little vengeance in their hearts?
We’ll find out tonight.
Tale of the Tape
All of the statistics listed below are from last season.
Probable Starters
I assume we’ll be playing center roulette all season long. Seeing as the Blazers have Donovon Clingan, who is quite the big boy, I’m predicting Malauch gets the start tonight.
Injury Report
Suns
- Luke Kennard — QUESTIONABLE (Left Knee Tendinopathy)
- Mark Williams — OUT (Left Shoulder Surgery)
Trail Blazers
- Deni Advija — QUESTIONABLE (Right Ankle Soreness)
- Branden Carlson — OUT (Concussion Protocol)
- Micah Potter — QUESTIONABLE (Illness)
- Shaedon Sharpe — OUT (Right Meniscus Surgery)
- Chris Youngblood — OUT (Left Ankle Soreness)
What to Watch For
We have the usual things we’ll be watching for as the Suns take on the Trail Blazers, storylines we’ve been following throughout the summer and preseason. What does Miles Bridges’ integration into this offense look like? How does Jalen Green perform when given primary playmaking responsibilities? What does the center rotation look like? Can Devin Booker improve his shooting efficiency after a lackluster preseason? And how much energy can the bench bring? These are all questions we’ll finally begin getting answers to now that the games actually count.
It’ll also be interesting to watch how the Trail Blazers operate offensively. Deni Avdija was the tip of the spear for Portland last season, posting a 28.5% usage rate, easily the highest of his career. But with Ja Morant, Damian Lillard, and Jrue Holiday coming off the bench, Avdija is going to have to adjust to playing more off the ball. It’s something he’s capable of doing, but it certainly wasn’t his superpower a season ago.
So Portland has some figuring out to do as well. Who do they want to be offensively, and how are they going to operate with so many players accustomed to having the ball in their hands? It’s a tough test right out of the gate against a Phoenix Suns team loaded with aggressive, switchable defenders.
That’s my primary focus tonight. How does Deni Avdija look within the confines of this new offense, and does he remain the player Phoenix needs to prioritize shutting down? Or do the Suns turn their attention to an exciting Portland backcourt that can create problems offensively but also presents opportunities to exploit on the defensive end?
Key to a Suns Win
The Blazers ranked sixth in rebounding last season and led the league in second-chance points, averaging 18.4 per game. If the Suns want to win this matchup, they’ll need to prioritize controlling the glass, particularly when it comes to preventing Portland from grabbing offensive rebounds.
If Phoenix can generate additional possessions by securing offensive rebounds of its own, that’s an added bonus for a Suns team that ranked sixth in the league in second-chance points a season ago. This one might ultimately come down to a battle on the glass and which team can control it.
Prediction
Plenty of people have the Suns and Trail Blazers in the same tier of the Western Conference, two teams expected to compete for the sixth seed while potentially falling as far as the Play-In Tournament.
I think the Suns are the better team. I think they’re more organized, possess greater continuity, and have fewer questions surrounding who they are and what they’re capable of becoming. And I believe that tonight, Phoenix will lean into its strengths, exploit Portland’s weaknesses, and bring home its first win of the season.
