The Phoenix Suns now await the Golden State Warriors tonight in Downtown Phoenix. It’s a game we didn’t want, but we got it anyway.
Phoenix finished the regular season 45-37, good for the 7th seed. Golden State finished eight games behind them at 37-45, which locked them into the 10th seed. As we all know, the Suns dropped their first play-in game to the Blazers, so they take on the winner of the 9-10 matchup.
The Warriors defeated the Clippers in a 126-121 thriller on Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
Steph Curry led the way with 35 points, and Kristaps Porzingis and Gui Santos each chipped in with 20 points each. Draymond had himself quite the defensive showcase as well. The Warriors will be a handful.
1) Are the Suns who they think they are?
The Phoenix Suns’ identity this entire season has been built on this new culture they latched onto during the offseason. Toughness. Grit. Resilliance. If they are who they think they are, this game is the time to prove it. So was the last game, but that’s in the past. Now, their backs are truly against the wall in an elimination game.
Will we get the Suns of old, or will this team show us one more time who they really are? We will learn exactly who they are one way or another tonight. It would be a LOOONG offseason if they lost this one tonight.
And this all starts with their leader, Devin Booker.
Booker needs to set the tone and protect his home floor. Getting beaten on your own court in consecutive games to get eliminated from playoff contention would be tough to live down for any star, especially considering they are the highest seed in this thing.
Dillon Brooks, this is your time to shine. Can he out-Draymond mister Green himself? These are the types of games that build legacy and reputation. Jalen Green is likely hungry for a revenge game against the Warriors. Those two (Brooks and Green) did lose to this Warriors team in the playoffs a year ago as members of the Rockets, and it’s a full circle moment as that series loss was a major reason the Durant-to-Houston trade happened in the first place.
2) Who guards Steph?
We’ve all seen what Steph can do in big games. Jordan Goodwin had his hands full with Deni in the last game; now it’s not so much a physical disadvantage he’ll have. Great news! Right? Well, instead, now he has to chase around the greatest shooter of all time.
But again, this isn’t a one-man job. It takes a team in sync to be connected defensively to slow someone like Steph down. Switching, hedging, helping, constant communication… disruption. All the things that made the Suns’ defense impactful all season long.
3) Small Ball?
One key matchup to watch will be the center rotation(s), especially if Mark Williams can’t go. Golden State boasts a Porzingis-Green frontcourt duo, along with veteran Al Horford off the bench. They are not afraid to play small and tend to thrive when they do. The polar opposite of the Portland team they just faced.
Oso Ighodaro will likely play a pivotal role in this one.
As coach Ott said above on playing small: “It’s always the balance, but I think Deni (Avdija) got in the paint no matter who we had in the game. His ability to drive is pretty unique. Tomorrow is a whole new geometry. It’s a different team the way they attack offensively. Similar, they want to shoot a bunch of 3s and how they attack is way different. They run a lot of off-ball screens to free up Curry and then they just react off of his gravity. Tomorrow will be a different challenge and in-game, you always have to be willing to adjust. You have a plan going into it. Got to be willing to adjust. Again, it’s all hands on deck.”
The rotations will be very interesting to watch in this one, as Steve Kerr and Jordan Ott play chess against one another.
4) Book must cook
There has been a lot of chatter about Devin Booker’s dud against the Blazers. He is a supermax player, so that comes with a higher standard.
I will not harp on this point too much. We all know the version of Devin Booker that we need tonight. The Warriors will throw plenty of wrinkles his way to make his life difficult, and he needs to be ready for it. Plain and simple.
5) “The Others”
The Suns and Warriors have a similar style of bench mob. Gary Payton II and De’Anthony Melton are there to cause chaos. Al Horford gives them a savvy vet who can stretch the floor. Gui Santos has stepped into a starting role to fill in for Jimmy Butler and shown the ability to produce in big moments. Podziemski hustles.
This is the type of game where Jordan Goodwin, Collin Gillespie, and Royce O’Neale will need to be at their best.
To me, it feels like a perfect environment for Collin Gillespie to have a breakout game with both teams going small. Expect him to have the green light to shoot early and often. If he sees one go down early, that could be all he needs for the floodgates to open up.
Let’s hope the recap I write later tonight is a positive one, and not the last of the season. Hang in there, Bright Siders. We’ve got one last chance.
