Phoenix Suns (4-7) v Miami Heat (4-6)
Wednesday 11/8/2017 7:00pm
Talking Sick Resort Arena, Phoenix, AZ
Arizona Sports 98.7FM/Fox Sports Arizona
2017-18 – Series tied 0-0
All-Time Series – Suns lead 32-25
Last Matchup – Heat won 112-97
Suns’ Last Game – Loss to Brooklyn Nets 98-92
Heat’s Last Game – Loss to Golden State Warriors 97-80
2017-18 Suns’ Scoring Averages – PTS/G: 104.8 (16th of 30) Opp PTS/G: 114.8 (29th of 30)
2017-18 Heat’s Scoring Averages – PTS/G: 101.2 (25th of 30) Opp PTS/G: 103.9 (12th of 30)
Usually a mid-fall game between the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat does not have a whole lot of meaning to it. However, yesterday the Suns finally traded Eric Bledsoe, sending him to the Milwaukee Bucks for (unlikely to ever suit up for the Suns) Greg Monroe, and a highly protected first and second round pick. Granted, Bledsoe hasn’t played for the Suns for two weeks. But the fact that this is the first game without him on the payroll does give this game a little bit of a different feeling.
Then the question is, will Monroe even be in the building? He is currently injured with a strained calf and is expected to miss at least another week, plus, even though the likelihood of him ever playing a game seems awfully low, he is a part of the roster. Will they make him show?
The Suns faced the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night, falling behind early and never really finding a way to claw back in. Another slow start (a problem the team has had all season regardless of the head coach) that included a 28-19 first quarter deficit, ended up being more than enough for the Nets to hold out for the ultimate victory.
Devin Booker followed up with 9 point clunker against the San Antonio Spurs with another poor game, scoring only 18 points on 40% shooting from the field and 25% from beyond the arc. He played in nearly 35 minutes, although he fouled out with about three minutes of action remaining and the team still attempting a late comeback.
T.J. Warren continues his early season scoring spree and finished with 20 points and 9 rebounds.
Miami has had their fair share of troubles this season, particularly surrounding star center Hassan Whiteside.
From the opening tip, Hassan Whiteside appeared to be entirely uninterested in competing against the Golden State Warriors. His effort was uninspired and listless, his shot poorly, played little defense, complained regularly, and after 16 minutes, was benched.
His attitude surrounding the entire situation even forced team captains to pull him aside in the locker room following the game and scold him for his behavior.
Even with that bad statline on his resume, Whiteside is still having a very productive year. While his blocked shots per game average is at a near career-low at 1.2, he is still averaging 15.2 points and 12.4 rebounds per game while shooting 52.4%, although his shooting percentage too is near a career-low.
Miami has struggled to find any consistency in the early season and currently sits at 4-6. They are 1-3 on the road, which is where they find themselves tonight, the fourth game of a six-game road trip.
Next: 50 for 50: The history of the Phoenix Suns in 1970-71
Three Interesting Stats
Phoenix Suns
1. Last season, in the three games where Devin Booker finished with 9 points or less, he followed those games up with 15, 19, and 15 point outings, respectively. He then followed each of those up with 38, 20, and 17 points games. Hopefully we see something more along the lines of the 38 point game this evening against the Heat. If, by chance, he scored 38 points, his season scoring average would be an even 23.0 points per game.
2. Passing creates open shots, open shots have a better chance of going in, more points generally equals more wins. While 18 assists in a game isn’t anything special, for the Suns, so far this season it has meant a better chance at winning. When the Suns record only 17 assists or less, they are 0-4. When they record 18 or more, they are 4-3.
3. The Suns are shooting 28.7 free throw attempts a game so far this season, which if sustained would be the most attempts per game in a season since the 1995-96 team averaged 30.1. Phoenix is also averaging 47.3 rebounds per game, which over the season would prove to be the most since the 1974-75 team averaged 49.2.
Miami Heat
1. On December 10, 2007, the Phoenix Suns held a 30-9 lead in the all-time head-to-head matchup between these two franchises. That evening the Heat defeated Phoenix 117-113 for their 10th overall win against the Suns. Since that day, the Heat have won 16 of the last 18 matchups, and a head-to-head record that was once dominated by the Phoenix Suns for 20 years, is now a 7 game, 32-25, spread.
2. In his career against the Phoenix Suns, Hassan Whiteside has averaged a modest statline putting up only 11.2 points and 9.2 rebounds. Phoenix is only one of six teams in the league (aside from Miami) that he averages less than 10 boards a game against.
3. Goran Dragic is playing very effectively once again this season, averaging 19.3 points (one point off of his career-high pace, and 4.8 assists per game. On January 3, the Suns defeated the Heat by 9 in Phoenix, and it was Goran who kept Miami even as close as they were. He tallied 24 points and 9 assists. On a side note, he recorded double-digit assists games only 6 times last season.