Phoenix Suns: 3 Takeaways From Opening Night Loss to Denver Nuggets

Donning their jet black “Valley” jerseys, almost everyone on the Phoenix Suns looked like a certain Gotham superhero last night. While battling against a player nicknamed “the Joker” at the same time, their season opener felt like a full feature film .

Unfortunately, the good guys lost this time around, as Nikola Jokic and Denver Nuggets dismantled the Suns by a 110-98 score. The former MVP put up another spectacular performance, contributing with 27 points, 13 rebounds, and two steals.

The Nuggets led the contest early, jumping out to an 26-15 lead halfway through the first period. The Suns struggled early with their long range shooting, going 2-10 from deep.

But Phoenix briefly caught fire during the second quarter. Their floor spacing and fast-paced play took over, allowing them to spread the ball around and find easy shots. They put up a whopping 37 points during the period, and carried a lead into halftime.

From that point on though, their offense sputtered out. The Nuggets began to dominate under half-court circumstances. Their role players stepped up, especially Jeff Green and PJ Dozier, who combined for seven made triples.

This game also included some chippy play spilling over from the last time these two teams met. Both Devin Booker and Jokic attained double technicals during the third period, as did Jae Crowder a few minutes beforehand.

Regardless, this first of 82 pending contests is now over for the Suns, and although they would have preferred to walk away with a victory, they can at least move forward with these three takeaways.

The Phoenix Suns Looked Rusty in their Season Opener

Last year, the Suns turned over the ball over 18 times during just seven games. But last night against the Nuggets, they reached that tally, clearly illustrating some clunkiness as a team looking to find their groove.

Built up around the same starting five, and with the same primary ball handlers from last year, the Suns suddenly going from a top five team at protecting the rock to a basement dweller would make zero sense. So with that considered, some early-season rust stands as the most likely culprit behind their sloppy play.

The same goes for their shooting. Especially down the stretch, the Suns often found themselves with wide open opportunities, still benefitting from their exquisite floor spacing and swift passing, but unable to connect. They went 10-27 from the field during the second half, which more or less killed their chances.

As an elite scorer, Booker best represented Phoenix’s uncharacteristically bad shooting. He went just 3-15 from the field, missing all the shots which normally go down for him.

Mikal Bridges, a career 82.6 percent shooter from the charity stripe, missed his only two free throws during the game as well. Crowder also went 0-5 from the field, missing from beyond the arc with each attempt, despite that shot being his bread and butter.

Landry Shamet is Here to Make a Difference with the Phoenix Suns

Oddly enough, Phoenix’s best shooting numbers last night came by way of a player least acquainted to the team. Locking in with his new squad, Landry Shamet went 4-5 from the field, and 3-3 from beyond the arc during his Suns debut.

Moving off-ball like a tiger stalking his prey, Shamet hunted for good looks all night along the wing, frequently finding success. He even with finished with his team’s highest plus/minus rating, undoubtedly making his presence known.

More importantly though, Shamet illustrated some tough defense during this contest, making a clear effort to improve his game’s weakest component.

During one sequence at the defensive end, he switched onto Jokic. The Serbian big backed him down along the baseline, but Shamet held his ground, rising up with him and forcing a miss. He also worked around the glass, finishing with three boards despite playing just 19 minutes.

Maintaining his talents as a shooter, while cultivating new ones as a defender, Shamet established himself as an effective cog to work within the Phoenix basketball machine.

The Phoenix Suns Once Again Neglected Jalen Smith

Even though they spent the 2020 NBA Draft’s 10th overall pick on him, the Suns refused to play Jalen Smith last year, with him only suiting up for 27 games.

But with fellow big man Dario Saric unavailable for the 2021-22 season, most expect Phoenix to unleash Smith this year. During their last night’s game though, they kept him shelved once again, even refusing to offer him some “garbage time” minutes.

For reference, Frank Kaminsky also logged zero minutes last night, and he played significantly as a big within Phoenix’s rotation last year. But either way, Phoenix’s choice to not grant Smith any run time still feels peculiar given his need for experience to develop properly.

Perhaps the Suns are shopping Smith right now, and just want to preserve him from possibly decreasing his value with any poor play. Monty Williams always does things for a reason, and this decision on his behalf cannot help but feel slightly strange, possibly leading to a big move down the line.