No Magic left: Suns must hunt Wolves in PHX
By Adam Maynes
Phoenix Suns (4-9) v Minnesota Timberwolves (7-4)
Wednesday 11/11/2017 7:00pm
Talking Sick Resort Arena, Phoenix, AZ
Arizona Sports 98.7FM/Fox Sports Arizona Plus
2017-18 – Series tied 0-0
All-Time Series – Suns lead 67-38
Last Matchup – Timberwolves won 112-111
Suns’ Last Game – Loss to the Orlando Magic 128-112
Timberwolves’ Last Game – Loss to the Golden State Warriors 125-101
2017-18 Suns’ Scoring Averages – PTS/G: 106.2 (14th of 30) Opp PTS/G: 116.7 (30th of 30)
2017-18 Timberwolves’ Scoring Averages – PTS/G: 108.6 (9th of 30) Opp PTS/G: 111.2 (27th of 30)
What often happens in sports when a head coach is hired and an interim is catapulted to the top, is a brief spike in overall productiveness. On occasion though, that spike can actually become perpetual, and a team that was once in the doldrums of despair suddenly appear to be re-born, with new energy and a dedication to the philosophy of the new regime.
Unfortunately, the Suns appear to have fallen in the first example, where the quick 4-1 start under Triano may have only been that initial bump in production, and not an everlasting turnaround that would carry this team through to some level of a miraculous ending to the season.
Following that impressive 4-1 stretch which actually got the team to .500 on the season for the first time in two years, Phoenix has slumped once again losing five straight, and on at least two nights, without their star player making any noticeable impact on the game at all.
Friday night’s loss to the Orlando Magic may actually have been the most disheartening of the season to date.
Phoenix Suns
Phoenix found themselves down only a single point heading into the second half, only to fall flat on their face in the third quarter and totally unable to curb the Magic’s sudden turnaround. Phoenix would lose by 16, an outcome that may have been entirely predictable, although at home, on a throwback night when the franchise honored many other their former greats from the 1960s and 70s, the current roster seemed at first to be living up to the hype surrounding the game; through 24 minutes, victory seemed to be entirely within their grasp.
What’s worse is that for the second time in four games Devin Booker was absolutely nowhere to be found on the offensive end. For a player that averages 16.8 field goal attempts per game on the season, Book only attempted 10, draining 3, and once again finished with only 9 points.
Even though T.J. Warren (20 points) and Alex Len (21 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 11-12 from the charity stripe) each had very productive games, without Devin Booker to anchor the offense, the team was never able to make any defining runs in the game to either take a commanding lead themselves, or claw out of the hole they dug in the third quarter.
If Phoenix plays tonight the way they did yesterday, then they truly will be in trouble.
The re-branded Minnesota Timberwolves come into town this evening in the two franchise’s first meeting of the year.
Led by third-year star and former Kentucky teammate of Devin Booker (more on their relationship in a moment) Karl-Anthony Towns (21.3 points and 11.0 rebounds) and the Timberwolves are off to a fantastic start to the season. After opening with a little 2-3 rough patch, the Wolves won five straight, then lost their last outing to the Golden State Warriors.
With the offseason addition of Jimmy Butler (14.7ppg), both Towns and Andrew Wiggins (19.6) have taken a step back in their total points production. Yet the team is performing at a clip that currently has them with the 3rd overall seed in the playoffs should they start today.
If the Suns do not perform to their absolute best against Minnesota, it will be a very long night for the young Suns as the Timberwolves will certainly outpace them on both ends of the floor. Not only does Devin Booker have to show up tonight offensively and lead the Suns as we all know he can, but Phoenix needs to be able to shut down at least one of the three-headed monster that is Towns, Wiggins, and Butler, and then hope that no role players have a sudden breakout game to pick up the slack.
Three Interesting Stats
Phoenix Suns
1. During their first five games under Jay Traino, Phoenix shot 36.3% from beyond the arc. In their current five game losing streak, that percentage has slumped to 30.0%.
2. During their first five games under Jay Triano, Phoenix averaged 51.4 rebounds per game. In their current five-game losing streak, that number has dropped considerably to 43.6 per game.
3. During their first five games under Jay Triano, Phoenix averaged a (still poor) 20.0 assists per game. In their current five-game losing streak, that average has dropped to 17.2, below their season average of 17.8, which would be the worst assists per game average for the franchise in their 50 year history.
4. (Bonus) During his first five games under Jay Triano, Devin Booker averaged 25.4 points per game while shooting 48.3% from the field. In the team’s five game losing streak, Booker has only averaged 20.0 points per game while shooting only 39.7% from the field. Granted 20.0ppg still isn’t that bad and he does have two 30+ scoring games during that streak, however, he has coupled those two high scoring games with two 9 points games – through 13 games, already only one fewer under 10 point games than he had all of last season.
Next: Was Trading for Greg Monroe a good idea?
Minnesota Timberwolves
1. The Timberwolves are in an odd situation where they have a 7-4 record, but allow three more points per game than they score themselves. This is because when they win, they have an average spread of 6.8, with four of their seven victories by three points or less. However when they lose, they tend to lose fairly convincingly (certainly a sign of a team still learning how to play together with the addition of Jimmy Butler), by 19 points, and three of their four losses by 21 points or more.
2. Karl Anthony-Towns’ scoring average is down by 3.8 points per game this season from 25.1 to 21.3. Andrew Wiggins’ scoring is down a full 4 points from 23.6 to 19.6 per game. Jimmy Butler’s scoring is down a dramatic 9.2 points per game, from 23.9 to 14.7. But do you think any of them care? Nope. The franchise’s 7-4 record ties their best start through 11 games since an equal record in 2013-14. Their 7-3 start through ten games (prior to their loss on November 8, to the Golden State Warriors), was their best since a 9-1 start in 2001-02.
3. Former college teammates at Kentucky, Devin Booker and Karl Anthony-Towns, are still very close. However, Towns has gotten the better of Booker in their first seven matchups as Minnesota is 5-2 against Phoenix. Towns has also had the better individual statistics than Book. Devin is averaging 16.6 points, 1.9 boards, and 3.0 assists in his seven appearances (six starts) against the Wolves, while Towns is averaging a much more balanced 19.1 points, 9.9 boards, and 2.7 assists.