Valley of the Suns
Fansided

Ranking the Phoenix Suns’ 5 holiday games in 2023-24

By Luke Duffy

DALLAS, TX - MARCH 5: Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks shoots the ball as Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns defends in the first half of the game at American Airlines Center on March 5, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - MARCH 5: Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks shoots the ball as Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns defends in the first half of the game at American Airlines Center on March 5, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
PORTLAND, OREGON – OCTOBER 21: Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers and Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OREGON – OCTOBER 21: Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers and Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) /

4. Portland Trail Blazers (New Year’s Day)

Depending on the status of Damian Lillard by the time the Suns face the Portland Trail Blazers at home on New Year’s Day, the Pistons fixture may overtake this one. For now though, any chance to go up against one of the premiere guards in the league in Lillard is a reason to watch.

The Trail Blazers as currently constructed don’t look like much of a threat to the Suns and their hopes of finishing with a high seed out West, but they do represent a different kind of challenge in two ways. The first is that the two sides will have met already by this point, in an in-season tournament game.

Not that a budding rivalry is going to grow out of that contest, but this tournament is new for everybody, although it is unclear how the Suns are going to approach these games. If the Trail Blazers have won that game, and the Suns are out of that competition early, rightly or wrongly they are going to be made fun of.

Even though that trophy isn’t the reason owner Mat Ishbia has assembled this super team. This matchup will also be a fascinating insight into both the “Point-Booker” experiment, and also how both he and Beal guard one of the best scorers in the game in Lillard.

Booker vs Lillard in a duel would be great television, while we’ll get a chance to see what kind of appetite Beal has for chasing around opposing guards on a nightly basis. As an added bonus, it will be a chance to see how rookie Scoot Henderson does against one of the best teams in the league. This is a challenge he is likely to meet head on, and it will be fun to watch.

Home/Suns News