Basketball. Finally, we got some basketball on Friday night, and although the Suns walked away with a loss and their NBA Cup hopes are ultimately dashed (oh man!), we can appreciate some functional team progress and a little fight down the stretch.
This wasn’t a game I entered expecting Phoenix to win, despite Denver experiencing its fair share of bumps in the road to begin the season. You could see it on the court, too. This is a Nuggets team that looks a little older, with some wear and tear beginning
to show. Ultimately, it turned into a variance game for Denver, as Jamal Murray and Christian Braun went 7-of-9 from beyond the arc.
For the first time this season, it felt like the Suns were functioning and flowing on both ends of the floor. No, it was far from perfect basketball. You don’t surrender 127 points playing perfect basketball. But what we’re looking for early in the season are signs of progress and connectivity, and we finally started to see aspects of both on Friday night.
I’ll get into what I saw in greater depth in another article, as I don’t want to sway any votes in the Bright Side Baller based on how I absorbed the game and my personal observations. But it was nice to experience a night in which the Suns showed some fight, some functionality, and a little intestinal fortitude, even if it ultimately came in a loss.
Bright Side Baller Standings
With all of the talk about point guards and lineups, Jalen Green is the guy who currently leads the BSB standings after his efficient 20-point performance against OKC back on Monday. He beat out Mariah by 10 votes!
Bright Side Baller Nominees
Game 4 against the Nuggets. Here are your nominees:
Miles Bridges
24 points (10-of-19, 2-of-7 3PT), 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 0 turnovers, -1 +/-
Dillon Brooks
22 points (9-of-12, 4-of-6 3PT), 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, -14 +/-
Collin Gillespie
16 points (6-of-11, 4-of-8 3PT), 3 rebounds, 10 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers, +8 +/-
Devin Booker
20 points (7-of-19, 3-of-7 3PT), 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers, -14 +/-
Jordan Goodwin
11 points (4-of-10, 3-of-7 3PT), 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 0 turnovers, 0 +/-
Oso Ighodaro
2 points (1-of-3), 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 turnovers, +4 +/-
Hear ye, hear ye! Cast ye votes here, ye!
