The Phoenix Suns are back, and so are their winning ways, as they beat the Detroit Pistons in the first preseason game of the year for both teams. Basketball is back, and it felt so good.
It also felt good to watch the Suns’ big three go to work together, and they fit in seamlessly. The guys we knew would show up showed up. Kevin Durant displayed elite shot-making like he usually does, where he had several shots that were heavily contested, but nothing the defender could do about it.
Devon Booker handled the all a bit and played point guard, something we knew would happen, while also finding a way to get to his spots. That’s exactly what you want to see, too. And Bradley Beal, the one guy we weren’t as sure about, also gave us a glimpse into what we could see in the 2023-24 season.
Beal is also one of those elite shotmakers, something every team needs; the Suns just so happen to have three of them. Beal was active on defense and the boards, pulling down four of them to help the new Suns’ big man, Jusuf Nurkic, who was in foul trouble. Not to mention, we got a little glimpse of how Fran Vogel will be as a coach this season.
Everything went well. Even some of the guys off the bench played lights out. Some Suns’ players’ stock went up after the first preseason game of the year.
Grayson Allen, G
Allen was probably the best player on the floor for the Phoenix Suns, given he played far more than the big three did. He was a guy who even had a heat check at one point, pulling up from deep because he was making everything else he threw up at the rim. Allen is going to be a huge part of who the Suns are, mainly because he may end up being a guy who is right there in that sixth-man role.
Obviously, this was the preseason, and we never want to immediately jump and say the Suns are winning the NBA Finals; however, adding Grayson Allen may have made the Ayton trade even better. Allen showed what he could be for those contending teams, much like he was for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Allen has the second most points in the game behind the Pistons’ Marvin Bagley. He also showed good defense on the ball, fought through the many screens the Pistons used, and had one of the better defensive plays we saw all night.
Allen collapsed on a drive-in and ended up blocking the layup attempt on what was a huge play. He then ran down the court for a catch and shot three. That was just a little glimpse of what we can see from him this season.
Yuta Watanabe, F
Watanabe was one of the more sneaky pickups the Suns made this offseason. We heard that Kevin Durant tried to recruit him there as soon as the Suns’ superstar heard Watanabe was a free agent. There is a reason, too. Sure, they played together in Brooklyn with the Nets, but there’s more to it than that. Watanabe showed that in the first preseason game.
In his Suns’ debut, he finished with 10 points, four rebounds, two steals, and one assist. He was really doing it all in a role that was valuable off of the bench. The Suns will easily need that this year.
One thing he showed, though, the biggest reason the Suns added him, was his three-and-d potential. He played great on-ball defense when guarding the ball, and his help defense was not too shabby, either. His awareness of the passing lanes was great.
The three-point shot was looking great, even though he was just 2-6 on the day. However, the release was quick and smooth, and he didn’t dip it into the shooting pocket much, which helped with getting the ball off quicker. Watanabe was good, even if his stat line was pretty average. Fans are going to love him in Phoenix.
Drew Eubanks, F/C
Jusuf Nurkic went into foul trouble early in the Suns’ first preseason game and his first game wearing purple and orange. Luckily, it was just a preseason game, and they had Eubanks on the bench. The two played together in Portland, which is where the funny quote came from Nurkic saying Eubanks isn’t sneaky.
But he is sneaky. He is sneakily good. Eubanks was all over the court against the Pistons on Sunday. He was their best defender, outside of maybe Josh Okogie, but even then if you argued with me that Eubanks was better, I wouldn’t think you were crazy.
We knew that he loves to block shots, as he was top 20 in that category last season as a bench player. He even showed some of that against the Pistons in the first preseason game as he had one block, where he absolutely skied for it, hanging in the air.
Eubanks also showed that he could be disciplined while the guy ahead of him was not. He knew he couldn’t be aggressive because of the foul trouble. Eubanks finished with two fouls in 17 minutes. Eubanks will be huge for this team in 2023-24.