Phoenix Suns: The good, bad and ugly from last week’s road trip
By Noah Velasco
Phoenix Suns good, bad and ugly at the Toronto Raptors
For the Suns, they currently haven’t lost back-to-back games since Jan. 22-23. Conversely, they played up to the competition and beat the Toronto Raptors 104-100. One standout was Deandre Ayton.
The good
Deandre Ayton’s big game
Easily the most criticized player in Phoenix carrying the weight of the 2018 draft. Playing in one of his best games of the season he had 19 points, nine rebounds, and the game-winning block.
Coming down to one of the last plays of the game Ayton played excellent defense on Raptors forward Pascal Siakam and blocked his shot on its way up. Siakam had a game-high 26 points but Ayton’s block on his last shot was the crucial play of the game.
On the offensive end, Ayton feasted in the paint helping contribute to Phoenix’s 58 points in the paint. In a game where the team shot 25% from 3-point range and lacked free throws, Ayton stepped up and pushed Phoenix over the edge to win by four points.
Additionally, they only shot nine free throws. The Suns are the worst at getting to the line in the entire NBA. This is especially harmful since last season they had one of the best free-throw percentage teams in NBA history.
The win was important for Phoenix to get a gritty victory over a talented Raptors team. One of the best aspects of the Suns has been their ability to bounce back and not let a loss bother them.
The bad
Living and dying by the 3-ball
The Suns have been one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the NBA but in this low-scoring affair, they managed to hit only 25% of their shots from behind the arc. As shooters you are trained to keep shooting and not lose confidence but the 3-ball just wouldn’t fall.
Fortunately, Toronto shot worse from the field and a percentage point better than Phoenix.
The ugly
Stopping Siakam
Aside from the game-winning block, the Suns had no answer for his offense. Scoring 26 points all in and around the paint, Siakam had the Raptors in place to win aside from his 3-point shooting where he didn’t make a single shot.
Still, Siakam got to the free-throw line 11 times and made all but one. The referees tend to be unfavorable to the Suns and Siakam took advantage nearly stealing victory from Phoenix.