Game Report: Ayton and Bridges the positives in shock Phoenix Suns loss

The Phoenix Suns have been left startled by one of the most remarkable shooting displays you’re ever likely to see. Heading into the game as heavy outsiders, the Adelaide 36ers shot a staggering 24-for-43 (55.8%) from deep as they produced a shocking 134-124 victory.

It looked very much like a team going through the motions in their first preseason game, coming up against a foreign team hell bent on proving themselves on the biggest stage.

The Phoenix Suns have been left shocked by a stunning ten-point loss to the Adelaide 36ers in their opening preseason game at Footprint Center.

Phoenix began well enough, with the Chris Paul-Deandre Ayton pick-and-roll proving as fruitful and productive as ever. But knowing they were well and truly outmatched in physicality and athleticism, the 36ers came out shooting flamethrowers from beyond the arc.

Head coach Monty Williams chose to run the first and second units separately, with the lineup of Cameron Payne, Landry Shamet, Damion Lee, Torrey Craig and Jock Landale proving neither offensively or defensively efficient. That unit went -11 in less than six first-half minutes as Adelaide built a double-digit lead.

Both offenses continued to prosper as the Suns starters re-entered. While many of Adelaide’s threes were semi-contested, there wasn’t the necessary intensity you’d expect from a Suns defense that ranked top three in the league last season.

Adelaide shot their way to 71 first half points, thanks to shooting 12-for-21 (57.1%) from three-point range. Phoenix shot 50% from the floor themselves, but just 22.2% from three as they trailed by 12 at the half.

The starters began to make amends in the third; Ayton’s physical presence proved too much while Devin Booker’s pure jumpshot made a more regular appearance. While they did eat into the lead as the margin was reduced to one, the bench unit was again outscored as Adelaide rebuilt a six-point lead heading into the fourth.

The Suns could have been mistaken for thinking they were playing against a left-handed Stephen Curry, with Craig Randall II continuing to bomb from deep on his way to 35 points. When he finally cooled off, it was Robert Franks (32 points) who picked up the slack. Phoenix continued to push towards a comeback win, but the outrageous shooting display signified it as Adelaide’s night.

The form of Bridges and Ayton were the clear positives to take away from the contest. The latter had 22 points and six rebounds in his 22 and a half minutes, shooting an efficient 11-for-14 from the field. As impressive as it was, most of his baskets came from poor pick-and-roll defense and simply being too big for the 36ers defense.

Bridges showed nice flashes of what he could do in a more expansive offensive role; he pushed the ball in transition a couple of times, working himself to the line with some aggressive takes. He finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and three steals, proving the only Sun to really bring NBA intensity on the defensive end.

While the loss isn’t a major concern, it does put greater emphasis and onus on the Suns three remaining preseason games. These clearly weren’t anywhere near regular season lineups that Williams would use, so it’ll be interesting to see how that progresses over the next 10 days.

More game reaction to come on Valley of the Suns over the next 24-48 hours.