Phoenix Suns (3-4) v Washington Wizards (4-2)
Wednesday 11/1/2017 4:00pm
Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.
Arizona Sports 98.7FM/Fox Sports Arizona
2017-18 – Series tied 0-0
All-Time Series – Wizards lead 62-61
Last Matchup – Wizards won 131-127
Suns’ Last Game – Win over the Brooklyn Nets 122-114
Nets’ Last Game – Win over the Sacramento Kings 110-83
2017-18 Suns’ Scoring Averages – PTS/G: 105.3 (13th of 30) Opp PTS/G: 116.7 (29th of 30)
2017-18 Wizards’ Scoring Averages – PTS/G: 111.7 (4th of 30) Opp PTS/G: 105.8 (17th of 30)
When the Suns blew an 18 point lead in the third quarter suddenly falling behind by eight in what felt like a matter of seconds, Suns fans throughout the Valley must have had a pit in their collective stomachs that this was the same old Suns. It must have been reasoned that they are young and inexperienced, that they are not all that talented from top to bottom, and that without Eric Bledsoe they don’t have a second scorer to help protect Devin Booker.
But then something happened. As quickly as they fell behind, they turned the game around. From what appeared to be their fifth loss of the season quickly became their third win.
What was most impressive – and important – about the victory was the manner in how they pulled it off.
Phoenix Suns
While Booker led the team in scoring with 30, his scoring was entirely unneeded he scored only two points while the team outscored Brooklyn by nine (although there is an argument to be made that Mike James should have looked for Booker more in the fourth quarter to get him going). Instead, after committing his fifth foul and looking like an overall bad game, T.J. Warren decided to take the game over himself, scoring all 20 of his points in the second half while grabbing eight of his 10 total rebounds.
Warren not only scored efficiently, but added tallies to both the scoring and rebounding categories on individual plays with acrobatic put back missed layups from under the basket. From a player who seemed destined to end his night early with only one more foul, Warren became the star of the game, even if he was never the offensive focal point.
Mike James too made a huge impression finishing with a career-high 24 points and becoming the iso-centric scorer that Booker needed to take pressure off of him. Of course, the Suns should never allow isolation plays to become a focal point of their offense again, and as mentioned above, James did appear to take it upon himself to carry the team even when Booker and Warren were both on the court and more than capable of doing so as a group, but regardless, James didn’t back away from the challenge and provided needed scoring late to help pull off the comeback.
Props too should be thrown at the resurgent Alex Len who grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds and played a focal point in the offense at times as well.
This afternoon (yes, the game starts at 4pm AZ time – which is ridiculous), the Suns take on the Washington Wizards in their second back-to-back matchup of the young season (they finished 0-2 in their first set).
Beginning the season 3-0, the Wizards lost two straight by a total of six points, the second coming in a 120-117 loss at the Golden State Warriors. They got back on the snide, however, finishing up a four-game Western Conference road trip with a convincing 27-point victory at Sacramento.
The Wizards have won four consecutive matchups against the Suns, and 7 of 10 overall. Their 131-127 victory over the Suns in their final matchup last season marked the first time that the Wizards had led the Suns in the all-time head-to-head series since 2009.
Washington is led by the usual suspects of John Wall (21.7/2.7/10.3 wish 1.0 steals and 1.2 blocks per game), Bradley Beal (19.5pts), Otto Porter (18.7pts and 7.5rbs), and Marcin Gortat (12.3pts and 9.7rbs).
The Wizards have six players averaging in double figures though with Kelly Oubre’s 11.5 and Jodie Meeks’ 10.0 points per game.
Markieff Morris is continuing to rehabilitate from sports hernia surgery, although must still serve a one game suspension and thus is guaranteed to not play against the Suns this evening.
Three Interesting Stats
Phoenix Suns
1. Devin Booker is currently averaging 22.1 points per game this season, exactly how he finished in scoring last season.
2. Dragan Bender has made at least one 3-pointer in six consecutive games, the season opener being the only one where he failed to convert a single attempt. This sets a career-high for most consecutive games with a three breaking a streak of five set last season from January 8-18. Over this current stretch he is shooting 42.1% from beyond the arc, and 36.3% on the season.
3. T.J. Warren is once against starting the season hot, averaging 14.9 points and 6.0 rebounds, and 1.9 assists, all would be career-high’s. However, his 3-point shooting is absolutely dismal at 12.5%, which is killing an otherwise decent 2-point shooting percentage of 50.6, although that percentage would be a career low.