Young Suns Try to Stop Pistons Playoff Push

Phoenix Suns (22-47) v Detroit Pistons (33-36)

Sunday 3/19/2017 1:30pm
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI
Fox Sports Arizona/Arizona Sports 98.7FM

Season Series – Phoenix leads 1-0
All-Time Series – Phoenix leads 67-63
Last Matchup – November 9, 2016, Phoenix won 107-100
Suns’ Last Game – Loss to the Orlando Magic 109-103
Pistons’ Last Game – Win over the Toronto Raptors 87-75
Suns’ Scoring Averages – PTS/G: 107.4 (9th of 30) Opp PTS/G: 112.5 (29th of 30)
Pistons’ Scoring Averages – PTS/G: 101.5 (26th of 30) Opp PTS/G: 102.2 (6th of 30)

Preview

For probably the first time in franchise history the Suns are doing everything in their power to tank as hard as they can. Under the guise of evaluating the young talent already on the roster (undeniably true, although with the understanding that losses will pile up providing the best chance possible at a higher draft pick) the Suns are beginning to once again lose to teams that they shouldn’t lose to. Although these games are turning out to still be competitive and fun to watch, the losses are continuing to pile up.

Playing the Orlando Magic at home two nights ago, the Suns had an opportunity to win late but were unable to pull it out in the end as poor shooting and executive did them in. This is a learning experience for the young core and these losses will hopefully be learning experiences on how to perform and win in such situations come next season. But for now they are losing, and there will be a lot more of that where it came from. For a complete wrapup and interesting stats from the Orlando, read here.

With four statters and first sub-ins either no longer on the roster or asked to play, the team is now turning to the Young Suns to carry them through to the end of the year. Tyler Ulis has been granted the starting spot at point guard, Marquese Chriss is putting himself in discussions for Rookie of the Year – although winning would be highly unlikely – Alan Williams looks like he is earning himself upwards of $6-8M this summer in free agency, and Derrick Jones Jr. is playing like he is possibly the best 13th man on any roster in the league. While Devin Booker has had two poor shooting outtings since the benching of Eric Bledsoe, it appears obvious that he is just simply trying to do too much and take too much of the offensive responsibility on himself. Once he relaxes and let the game come to him like he had been, he will return to his prior formidable self.

In the meantime, the Detroit Pistons are making a solid push towards the playoffs and currently sit one game out of 8th place behind the Milwaukee Bucks (although they have lost three straight). The Pistons have one game remaining against Milwaukee on the 31st of this month.

Featuring an incredibly balanced offense with six players averaging double-figures (including former Suns Marcus Morris and Jon Lauer) the Pistons have developed a solid offense that while is low scoring, when it clicks on all cylinders is very difficult to beat. When scoring at least 105 points, they are 24-5. Their defense, however, is even better. Ranked 26th in the league, it seems probable that had been able to obtain a high-scorer before the draft deadline, that they not only might have been a playoff threat, but a very hard out for he Cleveland Cavaliers, should they have met.

Three Interesting Stats

Phoenix Suns

1. With Brandon Knight seemingly unwilling to play, the Suns have signed small forward Jarell Eddie to a 10-day contract and will be in uniform against the Pistons.

2. Eddie was most recently with the Washington Wizards, but was waived in October. He appeared in 26 games for them last season and averaged 2.4 points per appearance.

3. He was a four-year player at Virginia Tech where his in 2013-14 senior year he averaged 13.3p/5.4r/1.2r.

Detroit Pistons

More from Valley of the Suns

1. Marcus Morris has played against the Phoenix Suns fewer than any other team that he has played in his career. And yet versus the Suns he holds his highest scoring average against any team in the league with 15.5 points. Morris’ 5.8 rebounds against the Suns is second only to the Dallas Mavericks.

2. The Detroit Pistons have more former-Phoenix Suns on their roster than any other team in the league with Marcus Morris, Jon Lauer, Ish Smith, and Reggie Bullock. The four combined to play in 334 games with the Suns.

3. Although the Pistons only average 101.5 points per game on the season, they average 110.8 points per game in victories. For as solid as their defense is, their offense is the key. Hold the Pistons to about 100 and you have a chance to win. Let them score much more than that and they will be tough to beat.