Who: Phoenix Suns (1-4) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (5-1)
When: 7:00 pm Arizona Time
Where
: Mortgage Matchup Center — Phoenix, ArizonaWatch: Arizona’s Family 3TV, Arizona’s Family Sports
Listen: KMVP 98.7
The Suns are back at it on Wednesday evening as they return to the site of their only victory thus far this season. Home. What lies before them is a seven-game homestand, an opportunity to stabilize the front end of the season before things spiral into an unrecoverable tailspin.
Their opponent? The very
team that sent them down this worrisome path in the first place, the Portland Trail Blazers, who led by as many as 52 points before handing Phoenix a 41-point defeat in the season opener.
In some respects, it feels like we’re watching two teams heading in completely different directions. Last season, these teams met in the Play-In Tournament, with the Suns holding home-court advantage as the seventh seed. But the Trail Blazers, led by Deni Avdija, dispatched Phoenix with relative ease, putting the Suns in a position no team wants to find itself in. They were suddenly at risk of becoming the first seventh seed to miss the postseason entirely. Thankfully, Phoenix won its next game, earning a date with the Oklahoma City Thunder. We all know how that went.
But as this season has gotten underway, Portland has continued to build on the momentum it established a season ago, racing out to a 5-1 start. Meanwhile, the Suns find themselves on the opposite end of the spectrum at 1-4.
It’s a small sample size, of course. At any point during an NBA season, a team can go 1-4 over a five-game stretch, and while there might be some concern, you probably don’t think too much of it. But this is the foundation of the season. This is when we’re getting to know what a team looks like, what it’s capable of, what it does well, and where its opportunities for improvement lie.
When you look at the Portland Trail Blazers through that same lens, you see a roster constructed in a manner that makes sense, one capable of absorbing an injury or two without completely compromising its identity. That’s exactly what they’re dealing with. Ja Morant and Shaedon Sharpe are unavailable for this matchup, yet Portland possesses enough quality depth to remain competitive. Their absences don’t necessarily derail what they’re trying to accomplish.
The Suns, meanwhile, are experiencing something entirely different at the center position. Although Mark Williams is the only player listed as out on the injury report, his absence has created a ripple effect throughout the roster, one that becomes especially concerning when facing a team like Portland.
Perhaps Phoenix can use what happened in the season opener as motivation heading into Wednesday night. Nobody enjoys being embarrassed in the manner the Suns were, especially when the team responsible for that embarrassment is coming into your building. The question becomes: What are you going to do about it?
Tale of the Tape
Probable Starters
Injury Report
Suns
- Mark Williams — OUT (Left Shoulder Surgery)
- Jordan Goodwin — QUESTIONABLE (Right Calf Soreness)
- Rasheer Fleming — QUESTIONABLE (Left Ankle Sprain)
Trail Blazers
- Ja Morant — OUT (Left Hamstring Strain)
- Shaedon Sharpe — OUT (Right Meniscus Surgery)
What to Watch For
The Suns’ backcourt continues to be a point of evaluation for both the organization and the fan base. Jalen Green had what appeared to be a solid performance in the Suns’ last outing, finishing with 11 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and four turnovers. His playmaking abilities felt much more refined, although he certainly received some help from his friends, who were knocking down the shots he created for them.
The Suns’ backcourt continues to be a point of evaluation for both the organization and the fan base. Jalen Green had what appeared to be a solid performance in the Suns’ last outing, finishing with 11 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and four turnovers. His playmaking abilities felt much more refined, although he certainly received some help from his friends, who were knocking down the shots he created for them.
Green finished the game with 11 potential assists, meaning his teammates failed to convert only three times when he put them in a position to score. That’s a 73% conversion rate, which is pretty remarkable. Prior to Monday’s game, his assist conversion rate was 48%.
But then you look at the other aspects of Green’s game, and you can’t help but wonder why he can’t seem to put everything together at the same time. He shot 1-of-6 from the free-throw line and 0-of-4 from beyond the arc, posting a true shooting percentage of 33.1%. Make a couple of those shots, and we’re potentially talking about a much different outcome against Golden State.
So once again, I’ll be watching how this backcourt performs, particularly whether Green can combine his improved playmaking with the scoring efficiency this team desperately needs.
I’ll also be paying close attention to how Phoenix defends Portland, because the last time these teams met, the Suns were utterly atrocious on that end of the floor. You can chalk some of that up to it being the season opener, with players still trying to understand their assignments, responsibilities, and positioning within the defensive scheme. But regardless of the circumstances, Phoenix surrendered far too many wide-open three-pointers.
And Damian Lillard was more than happy to oblige, connecting on 6-of-10 attempts from beyond the arc.
Key to a Suns Win
It’s simple. This one comes down to rebounding. The Phoenix Suns are the worst rebounding team in the league by percentage, and they’re going up against the best in the Portland Trail Blazers.
Phoenix has struggled mightily on the glass, both offensively and defensively. This roster doesn’t have many players who can go up and simply snatch the shit out of the basketball. Instead, seemingly every rebound becomes an adventure in which poor positioning forces someone to tip the ball toward a teammate or desperately try to tap it back to themselves.
Meanwhile, Portland has long, rangy defenders who understand how to position themselves and secure rebounds, creating second-chance opportunities that can bury an opponent. It’s something the Trail Blazers did well last season, and they’re picking up right where they left off.
If the Suns want any chance of winning this game, they’re going to have to earn every rebound through focus, positioning, and our good old friend, “give a shit”.
Prediction
There’s nothing I’ve seen thus far this season that gives me confidence the Suns are going to win this game. They’ve been atrocious at defending the three-point line, their rebounding has been equally concerning, and those are two areas in which the Portland Trail Blazers have excelled early this season.
Perhaps this will be like last year, when everything came together in the fifth game. The defensive intensity started to manifest itself in a way that was both replicable and exciting to watch, giving us a glimpse of what this team could become.
I’d love to believe we’re on the verge of witnessing something similar. I simply don’t see it.
