It is almost time for one of the most exciting events of the summer for Phoenix Suns fans, Summer League! The roster will feature many players who could play major minutes in the regular season. This makes the games that much more important and creates many interesting things to watch for.
The NBA’s Summer League is an important time for a young team like the Phoenix Suns. Their Summer League schedule will begin this Friday when they take on the Dallas Mavericks at 6:30 P.M. in Arizona. The game will be on ESPN and would feature the real life battle between Deandre Ayton and Luka Doncic, if Luka were to play, but he won’t. Instead, fans will be treated to Ayton and Dennis Smith Jr., which isn’t half bad at all either.
The Suns’ roster includes nine players who are under contract with the team or who were in the past season. Five of them are returning players from last years regular season roster. This should put them in a great position to compete and possibly win the championship.
Although this is just Summer League and the competition will not be anywhere near as strong as a normal regular season game, there are a number of things to keep an eye out for. This is, after all, Igor Kokoskov’s first experience as the head coach of the Suns, and the first time a number one overall pick will play his first game for the franchise as well!
The habits and tendencies started here will continue into the season and make a major impact on the players, good or bad.
That said, here are three things to look for when watching these Summer League games!