Game 22: Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Lakers.
Sometimes it feels like the odds stack up fast. The schedule hits weird. Injuries pile on. Players get banged up. Feelings do too. The response is what matters. Do you stay locked in and ride the wave? Or do you fold and lean on excuses that make the effort look optional?
With this Suns team, there is no excuse. Next man up might sound tired, but it’s real with this group. They live it. And it has been fun to watch. I feel like every Bright Side Baller turns into me talking about how enjoyable this team is. Can you blame me? They are.
Monday night dropped another test in their lap. Jalen Green stayed out. Grayson Allen, fresh off his return, missed the game with an illness. Devin Booker played one quarter, looked sharp, and then left with a groin issue. He looked ready to snap out of that slump that dragged through November.
Facing the second seed in the West, you would not have been shocked if they slipped. They didn’t. They kept swinging. Mark Williams threw down a transition dunk that showed how much his effort in open space matters. Dillon Brooks went wild with turnaround jumpers. Collin Gillespie closed the door with three after three after three in the fourth.
There is no quit. There is only fight. The Suns earned their 13th win with style, taking a 125-108 victory off a team that walked in at 15-4. It was all Phoenix once Booker left, and while thinking about the future without him feels rough, for one night in Los Angeles, it was another game you could sink into and enjoy.
Bright Side Baller Season Standings
Dillon the Villain ended up being the only real offensive threat against the Denver Nuggets. The team shot poorly across the board, and while they played with aggression, it never turned into production. For those reasons, you overwhelmingly voted him to his fourth Bright Side Baller of the year.
Bright Side Baller Nominees
Game 22 against the Lakers. Here are your nominees:
Dillon Brooks
33 points (15-of-26, 2-of-7 3PT, 1-of-3 FT), 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers, +22
Collin Gillespie
28 points (10-of-19, 8-of-14 3PT, 0-of-0 FT), 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, +12
Mark Williams
13 points (6-of-8, 0-of-0 3PT, 1-of-3 FT), 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 0 turnovers, +14
Jordan Goodwin
13 points (5-of-10, 3-of-7 3PT, 0-of-0 FT), 1 rebound, 5 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover, -2
Devin Booker
11 points (4-of-7, 1-of-2 3PT, 2-of-2 FT), 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover, -1
Royce O’Neale
6 points (2-of-7, 2-of-6 3PT, 0-of-0 FT), 7 rebounds, 11 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, +20
Another monrning, another Bright Side Baller voting opportunity.
Every day that passes brings us closer to Dave King’s Bright Side Night, the annual tradition where we, with the help of the Phoenix Suns, welcome hundreds of underprivileged children into the Mortgage Matchup Center and give them a memory that lives with them forever.
It is one of the best things we do on this site.
Yes, we report on how the Suns are playing. We share opinions on transactions, rotations, front office choices, and the cap. Under all of that is a shared care for this team and this franchise. Ten years ago, Dave King tapped into that and gave us the greatest gift he could. He showed us the power of paying it forward.
Dave King’s Bright Side Night will take place on Tuesday, January 27 against the Brooklyn Nets. To everyone who has donated so far, thank you. I see the retweets. I see the comments. This matters to you. I am grateful for that, because this is the legacy Dave King left behind.
I want to share a story. A little over a year ago, the Phoenix Suns lost their iconic voice, Al McCoy. He carried generations through this game, filling our living rooms and cars with a style that was entirely his own. After he passed, @SunsUniTracker on Twitter, someone who not only updates everyone on uniforms but also creates designs and mock-ups, made a run of Al McCoy merchandise.
He could have kept the profit. He could have taken advantage of that moment. Instead, he donated every cent to Dave King’s Bright Side Night. $3,500. That is selflessness. That is paying it forward. To him, I say thank you.
And he is not alone.
We already have $4,470 donated from this community, with more on the way. To everyone who has reached into their wallet, I know it is not easy right now. Thank you. These kids will experience something they will remember forever.
This Suns team plays a brand of basketball that is tough, connected, and honest, and I am thrilled that we as a community are choosing to share that with the next generation. We are raising them right. We are showing them what this game looks like at its best.
It all starts by clicking the link below.
The business of the NBA can be brutal. We were reminded of that in the quiet hours of Wednesday morning.
Chris Paul, the Point God, was sent home by the Los Angeles Clippers. A player who many would argue helped put the Clippers on the map, because they had never tasted real success before he arrived in 2011, was brought back this season to the City of Angels. It was meant to be his farewell tour. He announced he would retire at the end of the season after 21 years in the league. At 40 years old, his athleticism has faded, even though his mind remains as sharp as ever.
The problem is that the season has not gone the way the Clippers expected.
They made moves over the summer that had plenty of people picking them as a top-four team in the Western Conference. They were loaded with talent and were supposed to contend for a title, giving Chris Paul the sendoff he earned.
If there is one thing we know in Phoenix, high-priced talent does not guarantee wins. The Clippers are this season’s version of last year’s Suns. Talent? Check. Payroll? Check. Cohesiveness, competitiveness, youth? None of that. Winning basketball games? None of that either. The Clippers are 5–16 and getting run off the court on a regular basis.
And Chris Paul is having the season a 40-year-old point guard tends to have. He is averaging 2.9 points and 3.3 assists in 14.3 minutes. There is not much space for him in the rotation anymore. So rather than send off their franchise point guard the right way, the Clippers are stumbling through it in a disastrous fashion. They have opted to send him home for the season.
He hasn’t been officially waived yet. “We are parting ways with Chris and he will no longer be with the team,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank informed ESPN. “We will work with him on the next step of his career.
What does this mean for Phoenix?
Well, you could talk yourself into a reunion. His deepest playoff run came here. He was the point guard who helped push the Suns into the 2021 NBA Finals, losing in six to the Milwaukee Bucks. For someone with a career full of accolades and All-Star nods, that Suns run was the furthest he had ever gone. So if you lean toward the retread reunion idea, and you know the Suns have an open roster spot, you can build a case for bringing Chris Paul back.
Would he move the needle on the court? No. Maybe he could offer guidance in the locker room to Collin Gillespie as he continues to grow. Maybe he could pass down some of the cerebral parts of the game to Jordan Goodwin. But he would not add much offensively or defensively.
Sentiment is powerful, and when you add an open roster spot and the Valley uniforms to the mix, the return can feel tempting. But the number 3 belongs to Dillon Brooks now, and that tells you how different this version of the Suns really is.
If the league wants to do right by Chris Paul, send him to the 21–1 Oklahoma City Thunder. Let him finish his career next to his protégé, Shai Gilgeous Alexander, the same player he mentored back in 2019. They do not need the help, but at least it puts the Point God in a position to chase a ring.
The NBA is a coldhearted business. Most businesses are. People get dropped in 90-second Zoom calls after years of service. We tell ourselves that is the way it works so we can stomach the cruelty. We wrap it in the idea of business, and suddenly it feels acceptable to act with no warmth at all.
So who knows what comes next for Chris Paul. Who knows where he ends up. I will always be a fan of what he brought to Phoenix. Not so much what came before or what came after. But I respect the hell out of him and hope he lands on his feet. Something tells me he will.
Coming back to Phoenix? That chapter has been written. The words have been read. The story is over.
Of course I take a night off from basketball while the Phoenix Suns are in between games, and I think I am going to spend my Wednesday night playing with the dog, taking out the trash, and throwing a movie on. My choice? Two for the Money. Never seen it before. Probably never watching it again.
You know what I should have been watching? The Valley Suns. Why? because Khaman Maluach and Rasheer Fleming were both playing. I do not know how it happened, but I missed it. And of course, I missed great games. Now I have to go hunt them down and watch every minute.
I have been walking you through quarter-by-quarter looks at Khaman Maluach with the G League affiliate as the rookie stacks reps and grows his game. Tonight, both he and Rasheer Fleming got that runway. And from everything I have seen so far, neither one of them disappointed.
Maluach played 35 minutes and poured in 27 points on 10-of-14 from the field. Sure, he missed his only shot from deep, but he ripped down 15 rebounds, six of them on the offensive end. He swatted four shots. He chipped in one assist.
And he was not alone out there.
A TANDEM impact sequence from Khaman Maluach and Rasheer Flemingpic.twitter.com/Jfjk83gHOI
— PHNX Suns (@PHNX_Suns) December 4, 2025
Rasheer Fleming logged 43 minutes and went 11-of-18 from the field, including 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. He matched Maluach with 27 points. He pulled down 13 rebounds, six on the offensive glass. He added three steals and two assists. The real separator? Each of them had only one turnover.
Development is never a straight line. It moves in waves. And on a night when the Valley Suns picked up their first win in 8 tries this season, this felt like a step forward. These rookies are getting real minutes. They are getting comfortable.
This is the developmental plan breathing in real time. This is what it is supposed to look like.
After a stellar first quarter, Devin Booker exited the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night, and soon after, we learned a groin injury was to blame. Phoenix outscored the Lakers 95–77 from the second quarter on and cruised to a 17-point win, but they did it with Booker sitting on the sidelines in street clothes.
As for the severity, Shams Charania reported that the injury is expected to cost Booker and the Suns one week of time. At least.
We know Devin Booker has dealt with soft tissue trouble before.
Last season, he tweaked his groin in late December, and it cost him five games. In 2023, he tweaked his hamstring, sat for two games, came back for two, then re-aggravated the injury. That setback cost him 21 games, and for a team that had won 64 games the year before, they went 10–11 without him. He eventually returned, but the team had shifted as they soon traded for Kevin Durant.
The challenge now grows heavier for the Suns. They are still without Jalen Green, who is dealing with his own muscle-based injury after logging only 30 minutes across two games. And the team is heading into a brutal stretch.
They play Houston on Friday, then the Timberwolves next Monday. After that comes the NBA Cup, where they head into Oklahoma City to face the defending champions. Based on what we know, you can see a world where Booker returns for that quarterfinal matchup.
The “reevaluation” label keeps the timeline murky. Maybe he is back for OKC. Maybe he needs more time. Whatever the case, he needs to be right. There is no reason to bring him back early. Devin rushed back in 2023 and it cost him 21 games. No one wants a repeat of that.
With the Phoenix Suns exceeding expectations early on, it would be smart for them to stay put. Sitting currently seventh in the West, this team is 13-9 and still has a significant piece out in Jalen Green. Not to mention the rise of role players like Dillon Brooks, Grayson Allen, Collin Gillespie, and Royce O’Neale. Having them be so influential has been key to their success.
Still, trade season does not stop around the NBA, and as we can see from Bleacher Report’s latest mock trade, the Phoenix Suns are involved.
In this trade, the Suns would receive Julius Randle from the Minnesota Timberwolves and, in return, trade Jalen Green to the Los Angeles Clippers. This very trade would shake up the Western Conference landscape and hurt this Suns team in many ways.
1. We still do not know what Jalen Green is
The Suns have yet to see the product they acquired in the Kevin Durant trade. Arguably, the most significant piece, and he has played one complete game due to injuries. Now, that is the reason he should be traded.
“He was healthy in Houston, now he is hurt, let’s move him” is the sentiment some people feel, but I am indifferent. Not just because it is Julius Randle (who has been fantastic this year, and is a notorious Suns killer), but because Green’s role here remains a mystery.
In his first game, he was terrific, leading the scoring. He was finding his way to attack in this new offense, and it was fun to watch. I am not willing to throw that away because he has not been available, plays the same position as Devin Booker, or because we have other guards on this team.
2. The Suns are getting younger and contract situation
The Suns wanted this season to get younger and faster. They did so in two ways: by adding younger players and playing them more than in previous seasons, and by adding a new head coach, Jordan Ott. His scheme and system are moving at a faster pace than in the past, which has led to this team’s success.
So why would the team trade a 23-year-old on his first contract after his rookie extension to get a 31-year-old who just signed an extension? It does not make any sense, especially where the Suns are currently placed. Even if they are doing better than expected, seventh in a stacked West is nothing early on in the season. If they added Randle, it would definitely help them, but at what cost? Not one of making the WCF or NBA Finals, so is it worth it? Why give up on a young asset, one you could either mold or get a bigger return on later down the line, now at one high point in the beginning of the retool?
Yes, some people say Jalen Green is not worth the money he is paid, but it’s better for this roster. The extension he signed with the Rockets kicked in this year, and he makes $106 million over three years. He does have a player option in the last year, which he can pick up or decline if he’s playing better than he’s paid.
Julius Randle’s contract is very similar to Green’s, as he makes $100 million over three years and also has the player option on his last year as well. Once again, the contract does not make sense to pay someone who is getting older when you have someone making just a bit more who can continue to improve.
3. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
The classic saying everyone knows, but it remains so true about this team. After so many years of trying to chase a ring and stars, this team shot itself in the foot multiple times. Yet the minute we see success, they should jump back in and do it again?
These role players have been stepping up and delivering, and as someone who has tried to trade them on this site since I started writing here, it may be time to stop. They have been giving the Suns exactly what they need and have delivered on both ends. Why should we reward them by shortening their minutes in the rotation? It just does not make sense to me.
Final Thoughts
This article was not written to rip apart Julius Randle. Personally, I loved him on those young Lakers teams and always hoped the best for him after the Knicks. He truly has found that in Minnesota, and even though he would make the Suns better on paper, I do not know how much this would help this team now. In the long run, I do not know how much this would help this team.
I also do not want to give up on Jalen Green for nothing. He is still 23 years old and can still blossom into a young star, even if it’s not the number one option he was drafted to be. That type of player can find success here in the Valley. Small sample size or not, I don’t think it’s smart to rush this rebuild into making this trade!
Who: Phoenix Suns (13-9) vs. Houston Rockets (14-5)
When: 6:00pm Arizona Time
Where: Toyota Center — Houston, Texas
Watch: Arizona’s Family 3TV, Arizona’s Family Sports, NBATV
Listen: KMVP 98.7
Both teams are coming off strong performances. The Suns just dominated the Lakers from start to finish, probably delivering their cleanest and most efficient game of the season (35 assists for only 11 turnovers with a 65.8 eFG%). Phoenix will try to beat the Texas squad for the first time since March 2024.
As for the Rockets, they fell to a very good Utah team before bouncing back by beating Sacramento. It’s also our chance to see our dear Kevin Durant again, since he missed our first matchup for personal reasons.
Probable Starters
Injury Report
Suns
Jalen Green — OUT (Right Hamstring Strain)
Devin Booker — OUT (Groin Strain)
Isaiah Livers — QUESTIONABLE (Right Hip Strain)
Rockets
Fred VanVleet — OUT (Torn ACL)
Dorian Finney-Smith — OUT (Ankle Sprain)
Tari Eason — OUT (Oblique Strain)
What to Watch For
First, the storytelling.
We get reunions with Kevin Durant, Josh Okogie, and Aaron Holiday. On the flip side, Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks return to their old home crowd. That alone makes the matchup worth clicking on. Prestige, reunions, revenge, this one has all the ingredients for a high-level game, almost a derby between two near-neighbor states.
And of course, we’re hoping to finally break that losing streak against them. The Suns lead the all-time series 118-116, but Houston has won the last 5 meetings. It’s a clash of styles I can’t wait to watch.
It’s also the Suns’ first game without Booker this season.
Defensively, Phoenix will be fine, but I’m curious to see what happens on the other end: which role player steps up (I’m calling a statement game from Royce), and whether Collin Gillespie keeps riding this insane hot streak. As for Dillon Brooks taking 25 shots and picking up a technical? Vegas should put odds on that.
Plenty of reasons for Suns fans to tune in, even if the last one doesn’t exactly scream “dream scenario.”
Key to a Suns Win
Collin Gillespie is in the best stretch of his Suns career. Since mid-November, he’s turned into a real catalyst for Phoenix: stringing together strong games, hitting the 20-point mark, and knocking down threes at nearly 47%. What stands out isn’t just the numbers. It’s how he takes over in clutch moments. His game-winner against Minnesota made noise, and his monster outing vs. OKC proved he can carry the offense when needed.
With the team missing its franchise player, I’m hoping Gillespie brings energy, confidence, and real stability at point guard to help us keep up with this strong Rockets squad.
Houston has the second-best offense in the league this season, largely thanks to their range of profiles: Kevin Durant as a three-level scorer, Amen Thompson as a slashing creator, Alperen Sengun as a floor general, plus shooters all around. But even with all that, they aren’t some unstoppable efficiency machine: 21st in midrange accuracy and 19th at the rim. Their offense is talented and deadly from three (40%), but it relies heavily on offensive rebounding, where they lead the league.
So the key is simple: either limit their threes and force them inside, or gamble and let them fire from deep (best percentage in the league, but they take the fewest threes) so we can load the paint and crash the boards. Phoenix has had three days to prep for this one. Time to put that to use.
Prediction
It should be a tight game, a clash of contrasting styles and profiles. But I don’t see us holding on for 48 minutes against the Rockets’ talent and intensity. The game probably swings in the fourth, and we’ll run out of gas trying to match their pace.
Houston 121, Suns 112
The Suns never really found their rhythm against a supremely sharp Houston team, and despite some solid individual efforts, the Suns fall 117-98. Offensively, the numbers speak for themselves: 39% overall shooting and just 14% from deep, with 15 offensive rebounds that never translated into second-chance points. Ball movement was far from fluid, too, with only 14 assists. Meanwhile, 21 turnovers and 12 steals forced by Phoenix highlighted the relentless defensive pressure.
Individually, Dillon Brooks led the way with 23 points, supported by Bouyea’s 18, but it wasn’t enough to match Houston’s firepower. Kevin Durant scored 28 points, while Amen Thompson was unstoppable with 31, showcasing just how difficult it was to contain their versatile attack.
The final score, 98–117, reflects Houston’s dominance. Phoenix fought hard, but offensive inefficiency and turnovers made the difference, keeping the Suns below 100 points and struggling to stay in the rhythm of a game that quickly slipped away.
Game Flow
First Half
As if by fate, Dillon Brooks and Josh Okogie hit the first two baskets. Both teams quickly locked in: physical, intense, attacks on point, defenses not backing down. After four minutes, it was still neck-and-neck, 8–8.
With five minutes left, nothing had changed. No easy baskets, every contact audible, every shot contested, every rebound fought for. Pure, intense basketball. Suns stayed ahead, 17–15.
Meanwhile, Brooks looked determined not to lose again against his former team: 14 points in the opening quarter. The quarter ended as it began — impactful and intense — but the bench energy, especially Ryan Dunn with 4 rebounds and 2 steals, gave Phoenix a boost. Suns led by seven: 31–24.
Early in Q2, Jamaree Bouyea, Collin Gillespie, and Nigel Hayes-Davis created a small cushion with three layups for the first two, an interception for Nigel, and Phoenix jumped to +9. Udoka had to call a timeout; his second unit was struggling, and in such a high-intensity game, nine points started to feel heavy.
Still, a Bouyea (7 points) vs Durant (11 points) duel emerged. Our number 17 kept the line steady while Houston accelerated. After six minutes, the Rockets regained control, 46–44.
Things got worse fast. The Suns called another timeout in just two minutes. They were giving up points too easily. Houston shot 13/17; the defense disappeared, and Phoenix struggled to score. A 17–4 run later, the Rockets led by eight, 54–46. Kevin Durant dropped 17 points in the quarter, and Houston shot an absurd 60% overall, 55% from three. Entering halftime, the Suns were down by 10, and honestly, they almost survived.
Second Half
Houston kept up the pressure. Amen Thompson found too many open dunks. Jordan Ott called a timeout immediately after a 6–0 run at the start of the second half. Rockets pulled away, 74–58.
Devin Booker’s absence was felt. Shots weren’t falling, options were limited, yet Phoenix wasn’t playing badly. Just unlucky—especially from deep: 3/20 at one point. Still, the Suns stayed in it, albeit barely, 11 points down after five minutes.
Possessions repeated and failed: good ball movement, smart plays, shots bouncing off the rim. Houston surged. 82–65. Three-point shooting at 12%. Durant extended the lead beyond 20, then 25. Heading into Q4, it was 97–72.
Bouyea remained a bright spot. He was dynamic, fearless, taking responsibility in a tough game, 11 points in just ten minutes. Thompson hit 30+ points, with both his season-highs against Phoenix. With eight minutes left, the score was 110–80, garbage time officially underway.
Suns battled with effort and heart, but sub-40% shooting against this level of opposition is a mountain too steep.
Final Score: 98–117
Up Next
After this tough loss, the Suns will have the weekend to reset before facing a revenge-minded Wolves squad in Minneapolis this Monday.
Game 23.
What was your first car? The hand-me-down that landed in your lap after your older sibling had their way with it? By the time you turned 16 it was no longer a vehicle, it was a survivor. Mine was a 1990 Ford Escort family station wagon. The rear passenger door did not open. Not stuck, not stubborn, it simply refused. A true clunker in every romantic and mechanical sense of the word.
That is what Friday night against the Houston Rockets was. A clunker. It was loud, shaky, unreliable, and doomed the moment it pulled out of the driveway.
Maybe you’d call it “clanker” as well. The Suns were ice cold from deep, 14% on three-point shots. Houston made ten triples on half the attempts. Same night, two very different realities.
The Suns came out with effort and intention, locked in for about a quarter and change. Then Kevin Durant checked back in, the three pointers kept missing, and the whole thing slid sideways.
The avalanche followed, slow at first, then all at once. There was a road back if the shots started to fall, but they never did. It bled straight into the second half. The offense lost its compass. The rhythm disappeared. The team looked aimless, swerving lane to lane, white knuckled and guessing.
It felt exactly like that first drive in my old Escort, winding through 48th Street between Osborn and Indian School Road.
Bright Side Baller Season Standings
It was close, but CG12 gets it for Monday’s performance against the Lakers. And with Booker missing time and three players right on his heels, it’s a matter of time before someone ties Book’s 5 on the year. Side note: it’s been quite some time since Booker won a BSB, hasn’t it?
Bright Side Baller Nominees
Game 23 against the Rockets. Here are your nominees:
Dillon Brooks
23 points (10-of-24, 0-of-4 3PT), 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 0 steals, 3 turnovers, -24 +/-
Jamaree Bouyea
18 points (7-of-11, 2-of-3 3PT), 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 0 turnovers, -3 +/-
Collin Gillespie
13 points (5-of-13, 1-of-7 3PT), 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover, -12 +/-
Mark Williams
10 points (4-of-6, 0-0 3PT), 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, -21 +/-
Grayson Allen
9 points (3-of-12, 1-of-7 3PT), 2 rebounds, 0 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, -29 +/-
Jordan Goodwin
9 points (4-of-13, 1-of-6 3PT), 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 0 +/-
Fire away. Hopefully you’ll hit, even if the Suns didn’t:
The Phoenix Suns finally have a franchise center.
No, this is not in reference to their 10th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Khaman Maluach. Mark Williams has made an immediate impact, and it’s okay to think of him as your franchise center… for now. This is a good problem to have.
Did we expect Khaman to be the 4th string center behind Williams, Ighodaro, and Richards entering this season? Probably not! It’s not the end of the world, and more common for rookies to wait their turn than you’d think in this instant gratification society we live in.
Khaman Maluach’s time will come. It may not be tomorrow. It may not be next week. Hell, it may not even be next month. But at some time this season, the Suns are going to count on their rookie big man to provide impactful minutes in games and moments that count.
So far, Maluach has played a total of 49 minutes across 11 appearances. He has compiled 15 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks, 1 assist, and 5 turnovers on 4-of-10 shooting. Comparison is the thief of joy, so let’s not focus on what some of his fellow rookies are doing just yet. He was always going to require development.
Valley Suns
Maluach has played four games for the Valley Suns, averaging 14.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks on 55% shooting in 28.8 minutes per game.
His latest G League outing should encourage Suns fans. Maluach logged 35 minutes and put up 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting. He missed his lone three, but he hauled in 15 rebounds, six of them offensive, rejected four shots, and even tossed in an assist.
.@suns rookies Khaman Maluach and Rasheer Fleming dropped MONSTER double-doubles to lead the @gleaguesuns to a 23-point comeback win over the Warriors!
Maluach: 27 PTS, 15 REB, 10/14 FG
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) December 4, 2025
Most rookies in NBA history have had to wait their turn. It’s only this social media era that convinces people that a player should dominate from day one. Growth takes time. Development is work. And patience still matters in sports, even if the online world hates to admit it.
Phoenix sent him to the G League because that’s the system. It’s not punishment. It’s development. The reps matter. That’s why the G League exists. You use it, you lean on it, and you let the kid breathe.
It’s nice he has good “vets” to lean on as he develops as well. And yes, I’m referring to 23-year-old Mark Williams as a “vet” on this youthful team.
"I told him I was there for a while (as a rookie) and it's what you make of it."
Mark Williams he talked with Suns rookie Khaman Maluach on playing in the G League. (@Suns) #Suns pic.twitter.com/JwRHZM59Mz
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) December 4, 2025
Head coach Jordan Ott put it plainly when asked if Maluach’s big G League night meant NBA minutes were coming soon. “It’s a long runway. We’re not going to judge on one or two games.” That’s the right approach. That’s the adult approach.
His time will certainly come. Nick Richards could be dealt before the trade deadline, and we all know Mark Williams’ track record with missing time. In a perfect world, Williams stays healthy and breaks the mold so they can continue to take their time developing him.
If not, Khaman becomes the “break glass if emergency” option and will be thrown right into the fire. He needs to be prepared for that, and these assignments are a great start, so he can play through the growing pains and get some film to break down with the staff.
Patience isn’t exciting, but it’s how real players are built. The Suns know that. And fans should remind themselves of it too. Soon enough, he will be out there impacting games for the Suns.
How will we remember Week 7 of the 2025-26 Suns season? It is a strange one to pin down.
It was a choppy week, mostly because there were only two games on the schedule. It is the week Devin Booker tweaked that groin again. It is the week the Suns handled the Lakers, then got handled by the Rockets. That’s the elevator speech.
It feels like one of those early December weeks where the foundation has already been poured and now it is about execution night after night. I do not walk away from Week 7 with any sweeping conclusions. It is hard to define a team when its two best players are not on the floor, so it’d be irresponsible of me to do so.
Without Booker and without Green, you are still squinting at an incomplete picture. The effort is there, and that matters. But we still have no clear read on the ceiling because we have not seen this group whole for any real stretch of time.
So maybe that is what Week 7 really was. A holding pattern. A push toward the other side of the injuries. A push toward the other side of a brutal schedule stretch. A wait for this thing to finally feel complete and show the league what it actually is.
At 13 -10, they are in a better spot than most of us expected, and that still deserves acknowledgment. Week 7 felt strange for another reason, too. I barely got to watch them. After 7 games in 11 nights, we suddenly only had 2 games in 7 nights. Perhaps that is why the choppiness exists.
Week 7 did not give us answers, but it did give us position. The Suns are standing in sturdier ground than most of us penciled in back in October. That counts. Even if the picture is still blurred, even if the best two pieces are missing from the frame. This felt like the calm before clarity. The pause before the next stretch tells us something real.
For now, the season is not tilting one way or the other. It is waiting. And so are we.
Week 7 Record: 1-1
@ Los Angeles Lakers, W, 125-108
- Possession Differential: -0.1
- Turnover Differential: -10
- Offensive Rebounding Differential: -1
Down bodies and staring at another what-now moment, the Suns shrugged and swung anyway. Booker flashed for one sharp quarter before the groin tapped him out, Green stayed sidelined, Allen stayed sick, and Phoenix still punked the West’s second seed.
Mark Williams soared in transition, Dillon Brooks cooked on turnarounds, and Collin Gillespie slammed the door with a fourth-quarter three-point barrage. It was a gut-check win, soaked in fight, grit, and defiance.
@ Houston Rockets, L, 117-98
- Possession Differential: +7.0
- Turnover Differential: -8
- Offensive Rebounding Differential: +9
Friday night in Houston was a full-blown clunker. The Suns came out with purpose, hung around for a quarter and some change, then the wheels fell off in a shower of missed threes. Phoenix shot a brutal 14% from deep while the Rockets lit the fuse with 10 triples. Kevin Durant checked back in, the shots stayed cold, and the offense lost its compass. The rest was a slow-motion skid into the night.
Inside the Possession Game
- Weekly Possession Differential: +6.9
- Weekly Turnover Differential: -18
- Offensive Rebounding Differential: +8
- Year-to-Date Over/Under .500: +3
A graphic to gaze up as you sip your coffee:
This week felt like a tale of two cities. One game went one way. The other went straight off the rails. It is hard to hang your hat on the numbers when the sample size is thin. Only two games. Two completely different stories.
In the first one, the Suns did not win the possession battle. They did not win the offensive rebounding battle either. None of that mattered because they made shots, and they turned it into a win.
In the second game, they won all three areas that usually tilt things in your favor. Possessions. Turnovers. Offensive rebounding. And none of it mattered. When you shoot the way they shot against Houston, you can stack up all the extra chances you want, and it will not save you. They had 24 more shot attempts than the Rockets on Friday and still got walked out of the building. Escorted to the car. Sent to the airport. Why? Because it is not only about having possessions. It is about what you do with them. Shooting 39% from the field and 14% from beyond the arc will not get you anywhere.
Against the Lakers, though, they cashed those extra chances in. 12 more shots. 22 Lakers turnovers. 32 points off those mistakes. That is the season trend in a nutshell. The Suns are winning the possession battle more often than they are losing it, and they sit above .500 because of it. The Rockets game feels like an outlier. Hopefully, it stays that way.
Week 8 Preview
NBA Cup time! Yayyyy! Let’s go win it!
Week 8 is one of those strange ones. I am not even running a record poll this time because there is a variable we do not have an answer for yet, and it would not be fair to ask the question without it. But note that 52% of the community was correct in predicting that the Suns would go 1-1 in Week 7.
The whole thing starts on the road in Minnesota tomorrow night. A 5:30 tip on Peacock. Because yes, if you do not have a subscription, how dare you even think about watching basketball? Then it is off to Oklahoma City on Wednesday for a 5:30 NBA Cup quarterfinal against the Thunder. That one lives on Prime Video.
So if you are keeping score at home, that is two games and two different streaming services already.
The last game of the week is either the Lakers or the Spurs, and even the city is still a mystery. That part depends on what happens Wednesday. If the Suns win, they head to Las Vegas on Saturday to face the winner of San Antonio at Los Angeles. If they lose, they travel to face the loser on Friday. And I am fully prepared for that one to land on a completely different streaming service, because that is the only way any of this continues to make sense. More platforms. More confusion. More money.
The Phoenix Suns came into this past offseason armed with a pocket full of corporate buzzwords. Identity. Vision. Alignment. The mission was clear: build a roster that could support something sustainable, then try to grow a culture inside of it.
Through the draft and the moves that followed, I started carrying my own buzzwords into the season. Patience. Short-term greed. Long-term greed. Development. If you have read my work on Bright Side since last summer, you have seen those words pop up more than once.
I have always believed that if you are going to commit to a real process, you have to live with the process. No shortcuts. No panic buttons. No fast forward. The short term has to be swallowed if you want to reach the long term. And the backbone of all of it is patience.
That patience is starting to wear thin. Because it feels like we are approaching the moment where the next lever should be pulled, and I would prefer it were pulled faster than I initially desired.
All offseason, my stance has been simple. Development needs tiers. If you actually want to put a rookie in a position to succeed, you do not rush them into the deep end. You have a G League team for a reason. Use it. I have looked at this season as a six-month runway. The first two months should belong almost entirely to fundamentals. Reps. Film. G League minutes. Any NBA run during that stretch should be mop-up duty only.
That is not a strategy designed to delay growth. It is a strategy designed to protect it.
It does two things at once. It protects confidence because you are not throwing a rookie into high-leverage situations where one bad stretch can stick in their head. At the same time, it gives the organization space to lay down the foundation of the culture it claims it is building. The first two months of a season are about tone. Habits. Expectations. Rookies playing meaningful minutes too early muddies that process.
It is also how the Suns trapped themselves in the lottery hamster wheel for almost a decade. Every year, it was the same plan. Play the kids. Develop on the fly. Lose loudly. Rinse. Repeat. Short-term development kept cannibalizing long-term greed. And the culture never had a chance to stabilize.
In my own little theorem, the next two months, roughly Christmas through the All-Star break, that is when you start to drip the rookies into the rotation. Maybe it is 15 minutes a night. Maybe it is 5 in the second quarter and 7 in the third. The point is the foundation is set, they have logged real reps with the G League, the confidence has started to grow, and now you introduce them to the real thing in controlled doses. Real NBA minutes. Real situations. Real film. And that film becomes the tool that coaches like Jordan Ott can actually use to guide development.
The final stage is the last two months. That is when the minutes open up to 25 a night. That is when the training wheels come off. How far you go depends on the standings. If you are chasing a playoff or Play-In spot, you might tighten the reins a bit. Short-term greed still matters. Wins still matter.
So why drag you back through all of this again? Why revisit the philosophy? Because the patience part is getting tested. By my own timeline, we are only a few weeks from what I would call ‘phase two’. So maybe this is me jumping the gun. Maybe this is me leaning forward in my chair too early. But all of it circles back to one simple question.
What does Nigel Hayes Davis do right now that positively swings a basketball game?
On paper, he is a clean audition. He brings maturity. He brings a calm brain. This team needs that. This team values that. His road back here matters. The last time he played in the NBA was in 2018 with Sacramento. He was 23 years old. Now he is 31. Seven years overseas. Seven years of grinding. And now he is back in the league, trying to grab this moment with both hands.
Through 17 games, it is hard to argue that the moment is being seized.
He is at 1.5 points in 8.9 minutes. He is shooting 33.3% from the field. He is at 8.3% from beyond the arc. That is 1-of-12 from deep, and he hasn’t hit one since October 24. And in the minutes he has played, the Suns are -64 with him on the floor. Worst on the team.
I am rooting for Hayes Davis. I want him to succeed. His story impresses and inspires. It is built on resilience and stubborn belief, and the reminder that if you keep working, you can earn a second door back into the room. He has that door open right now. There is a real opportunity in front of him.
But when you watch him play, the mind starts to wander. You start asking if this is still the best use of those minutes for the organization. Because the way he plays right now feels rushed. The ball hits his hands, and it becomes a hot potato. The shot does not settle. The base is not set. The confidence never quite arrives. Instead of squaring up and letting it fly, everything feels sped up, like he is trying to give the ball back to the game as fast as possible.
View Link
The result is what the numbers already told us. Poor shooting from a player who was a 39.5% three-point shooter internationally.
And that is where my patience starts to grind a little.
Rasheer Fleming still has work to do. You see it in the small moments. The spacing in transition. The hesitation on where he should be standing. The game still looks fast to him at times. That is fine. That is youth. That is how this works. But at this point, I would rather live with those 8.9 minutes going to Rasheer than to Nigel.
I am not saying the same thing about Khaman Maluach. He is 19. Big men take longer. That part of the process still needs air. But with Rasheer, I think it is time. He has the two things you cannot teach. Length and athleticism. And after watching him go for 27 points and 13 rebounds and knock down a game-winning three last week with the Valley Suns, my curiosity is trumping my patience.
This is not a critique of Hayes Davis as a person. He got his shot. He has had his runway. He has not kicked the door down. And now the youth is standing right behind him, tapping on the glass.
Because when Rasheer steps on the floor, the energy changes. That wingspan looks like it could block off a hallway. He is from Camden, New Jersey. The Camden Condor might be born right in front of us. And I think it is time to find out what that really looks like under NBA lights.
The Phoenix Suns secured a gutsy road win led by young guys, minimum contracts, and role players. Sound familiar? It’s been the story of the 2025-26 Phoenix Suns. It’s their identity. And now they are 14-10.
It was a physical, chippy game between two teams with no love lost for one another. Mark Williams got a flagrant for smacking Gobert in the face. Rudy Gobert followed that up with an ejection for a reckless, dirty foul on Williams. Mark Williams hit his first career three. The Suns went two-for-two in challenges.
Mark Williams led the Suns in scoring with 22 points. Collin Gillepsie poured in 19 points, and Dillon Brooks chipped in with 18 of his own. There was a lot of chaos in this one.
“Next man up,” as Collin Gillespie said in the postgame interview on Peacock.
Game Flow
First Half
The Suns jumped out to a quick start, taking a 16-10 lead led by 8 points from Dillon Brooks. Allen and Williams each had four of their own.
Dillon Brooks off to a hot start
8 early points for the Villain! pic.twitter.com/MLVVtZVagy
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) December 9, 2025
The Suns remained in control, pushing the pace early and often to extend their lead to seven, 23-16. The Suns’ early defensive effort was promising, slowing down Minnesota on its home floor. Their activity on the boards was apparent early on, as well.
Minnesota lost a challenge early on an out-of-bounds call, and Brooks let them know about it by flashing his pinky their way.
Phoenix finished the first quarter with a 29-23 lead. Dillon Brooks led Phoenix with 8 points. Anthony Edwards led all scorers with 12 in the opening period.
The NBC broadcast crew stated, “This is such a connected group offensively,” after a Gillespie alley oop to Oso Ighodaro.
Jamaree Bouyea hit a triple to make it a 34-26 lead with ten minutes remaining in the second quarter. Phoenix was at its best in transition, pushing the ball and whipping it around for open looks from deep.
Phoenix won its second challenge late in the quarter, reversing what would have been an offensive foul on Grayson Allen into an and-one. This successful challenge also prevented Allen from picking up his 4th foul.
Minnesota started to fight back, cutting the lead down to just 3. A Grayson Allen movement three a couple of possessions later proved to make the challenge worthwhile.
He also hit this ridiculous step-through to close the half.
HOW DID GRAYSON ALLEN HIT THIS SHOTpic.twitter.com/aLnmo4rY7S
— PHNX Suns (@PHNX_Suns) December 9, 2025
Phoenix led 61-57 at the break. They shot 50% (24-48) from the floor as a team.
Second Half
Mark Williams hit the first three-pointer of his NBA career early in the 3rd quarter.
The next possession, he picked up a Flagrant foul 1 on a Rudy Gobert contest at the rim. Several plays later, Rudy Gobert took exception to the hard contest and recklessly shoved Williams while he was airborne, leading to a Flagrant foul 2 and ejection for the French big.
Mark Williams is down after Rudy Gobert forearm checked him mid dunkpic.twitter.com/KPSfg8CnCs
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) December 9, 2025
The teams continued to trade buckets with Phoenix slightly out in front for the majority of the game. In fact, they had led wire-to-wire up until the end of the third quarter for a brief moment.
Anthony Edwards was red hot, pouring in 32 points in his first 26 minutes of action on just 15 shots. He was carrying the Minnesota offensive workload throughout.
Minnesota’s first lead of the game came with 3:12 in the 3rd quarter after a Julius Randle jumper. Dillon Brooks matched that shot with a pretty turnaround jumper off a shimmy.
Dillon Brooks traded buckets with Anthony Edwards late in the third to get a bit of momentum back. After three, the teams were knotted up at 84.
A furious 7-0 start to the quarter pushed the Suns to a jump out to a 91-84 lead with 10:15 remaining in the 4th. A Gillespie-Bouyea-Goodwin-Dunn-Oso unit led this run. Phoenix continued to cook with the second unit, but then Anthony Edwards checked back in and sparked Minnesota to cut what was once an 11-point lead down to 4, leading to a Suns timeout.
Mark Williams quite literally lives above the rimpic.twitter.com/BtE2oPT5np
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) December 9, 2025
The 4th quarter was a slugfest, with each team laying it all on the line. Collin Gillespie made some heroic plays. He finished with 11 fourth-quarter points, including two clutch free throws in the final seconds.
Ice in his veins. Final Score: Phoenix 108 — Minnesota 105
Collin Gillespie caps his 12-point 4th quarter with the defensive stop!
Suns win a thriller in Minnesotapic.twitter.com/23v7l1xqb5
— NBA (@NBA) December 9, 2025Up Next
Phoenix heads back to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder in the first Knockout Round of the NBA Cup on Wednesday night.
Anthony Edwards kicked the ball to the corner, and the Suns got what they wanted. A last-second shot from anyone not named Anthony Edwards. He had 40 points on 15-of-21 shooting, so forcing the ball out of his hands was the only thing that mattered. When Jaden McDaniels floated up that awkward three, overtime drifted through the air with it. When it missed, the game ended.
The Suns went into Minnesota without their top two scoring options and walked out with a win. On a national broadcast on Peacock, the postgame spotlight did not land on Devin Booker. It did not land on Jalen Green. It did not land on Dillon Brooks. It landed on Mark Williams, who added another strong chapter to a résumé that keeps growing.
It is hard not to hold grudges. We get told to forgive and forget, yet human nature does not always cooperate. Forgetting means letting go of the emotions tied to whatever we are supposed to forgive. In sports, emotion often becomes fuel, and for Mark Williams, his road to the Phoenix Suns is paved with moments that now power him forward.
Drafted out of Duke, he spent three years with the Charlotte Hornets, although it was not time filled with warmth from the franchise. He produced when he played, yet health always hovered over him like a shadow. We know the story. He appeared in 106 games out of a possible 246. When he did step on the floor, he tilted games in a positive direction. He scored efficiently around the rim. He swallowed rebounds. He lived in double-double territory with 12.4 points and 8.8 boards during his time there.
Then came the moment that shifted everything.
Last season, Charlotte tried to trade him to the Los Angeles Lakers. The deal fell apart. The Lakers said he failed his physical. My own belief leans toward the backlash from their fans when Dalton Knecht’s name appeared in the trade package. That fan base had seen what happened in Dallas when Luka Doncic arrived. They were not eager to experience their own version of a firestorm. Maybe it was the physical. Maybe it was the noise. Either way, the trade died.
Imagine hearing you were shipped out, then waking up the next morning and being told to return to business as usual. That does something to a person. Williams finished the season like a pro, head down, work in front of him. Yet the sting lingered.
When Jordan Cornette held the microphone to him after Monday night’s win, that history, that emotion, that internal fire, all of it came through.
“It’s home, man. It feels great to be here. It feels great to be out here with my teammates. It’s good to be wanted,” Williams said to the national audience.
You’re goddamn right you are wanted, Mark.
The Phoenix Suns are a franchise built on guards, forever chasing that mythical big man who ties everything together. Sure, a few quality centers have walked through that locker room, but this has never been a franchise defined by interior dominance. Ask yourself who you would even call the best center in Suns history. Alvan Adams? That name comes from nearly forty years ago. Deandre Ayton? Out-of-position Amaré Stoudemire? Oliver Miller?
Here is a fun fact for the brave. The only centers to crack the franchises top 10 in rebounds per game for a single season are Neal Walk at 12.4 in 1972-73 and Jusuf Nurkic at 11.0 in 2023-24. Everyone else on that list is a forward. That is the legacy. This is not a line of Hall of Famers. This is not Nash or Kidd or Paul or Kevin Johnson. So when Suns fans see effective center play, they cling to it, because they know the long desert walk without it.
What Mark Williams is giving this team every night goes beyond effective. It is energizing. It is a jolt of something we are not used to seeing in this uniform. He runs the floor on every possession. He is a real lob threat, the kind of player whose hands you trust when you float the ball in the air. He hits the glass with purpose. He finishes with force.
Hell, the guy can even hit three pointers.
But it is more than his play that has this fan base falling for Williams. It is his softness, the gentle giant thing he carries around with him, the way he speaks with appreciation for this team and this city. He said it feels like home, and that is exactly what it has become.
There is still a long road ahead for the Suns, yet the care they have shown with Williams has been impressive. Through the first 24 games, he has played 20 of them. That is the most he has ever played through this point in a season, his previous high being 19 of 24 in 2023-24. His production has been huge, and the team has matched it by operating with a level of thoughtfulness around his health. That matters. That is how you treat family. You make sure they feel right. You put them in a spot where success is possible.
And he has delivered success.
He is scoring 13.2 points and pulling down 8.6 rebounds while shooting 65.8%. That is the 4th-best shooting percentage of any player who attempts 7 or more shots per game. He has been a revelation at the center position for Phoenix, and he fits perfectly with the identity this team has built. Tough. Gritty. A little angry at the world. A little hungry to prove something.
The Suns do not live in the land of forgive and forget. They live in remember why. They live with chips on their shoulders. And Mark Williams carries one with pride.
It goes without saying that when your team is winning basketball games and its highest-priced players are sitting on the bench in street clothes, you are probably getting contributions from guys you did not expect. There is one guy who, before the season even started, felt like someone you could not imagine contributing at this point of the year. The reason is simple. He was not on the roster.
When we did our preseason SunsRank (which is fun to go back and look at, by the way), he was not even an option. It will be interesting to see where he lands in SunsRank now because he has been a quality addition to the group.
I am talking about Jamaree Bouyea.
He is 6’2” and his path to this point feels like something out of a basketball odyssey. He went to the University of San Francisco, the same place that produced Bill Russell, Bill Cartwright, and Ime Udoka.
He went undrafted in 2022, and his journey from there is astonishing. He opened his career with the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the G League. He then spent time with the Miami Heat, the Washington Wizards, and the Portland Trail Blazers before heading to the Rip City Remix in 2023. That is five stops in his first year. The list kept growing. He returned to the Sioux Falls Skyforce, moved to the San Antonio Spurs, then down to their G League affiliate in Austin in 2024. In 2025 he landed with the Milwaukee Bucks before being sent to their G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, and he eventually circled back to the Austin Spurs to start this season.
Across two years he made 11 stops and logged 19 NBA games. That is the player the Phoenix Suns picked up. Their guard depth took a hit due to injuries and after a couple of strong starts with the Valley Suns, he arrived in Phoenix on a two-way contract.
He has played in eight games for Phoenix so far. In 13.4 minutes per night, he is giving them 7.4 points, 1.4 assists, and 1.1 rebounds. He is shooting 62.5% from deep. He steps on the floor in moments when primary scoring is sitting down and he gives the Suns meaningful minutes.
His game is hard to label. He is a baller, that’s the best way I can describe him. He has a little Cameron Payne in the way he drives downhill, although his three-point stroke is much smoother. He carries the confidence of Leandro Barbosa, another shifty guard who once thrived with this organization. He looks like the guy at the YMCA on a Saturday morning who destroys everyone with quick-twitch moves, a nasty crossover, and a pure jumper. He is doing all of that for the Suns, and he is doing it with belief in every step he takes. He is entering games in high-level situations, and he is executing.
He was part of the run that flipped the game for the Suns last night. He joined Jordan Goodwin, Collin Gillespie, Ryan Dunn, and Oso Ighodaro on the floor. That group opened the fourth with a 14-3 push and finished as a +6. The team needed that on the road in the fourth without their stars.
Where Bouyea goes from here is hard to predict. He is another great story in a season packed with them. His rise feels like the kind of spark that keeps a team steady through the grind, a reminder that opportunity can show up without warning and reward the ones who stay ready. Bouyea is living that idea in real time, and the Valley is seeing the impact every night he steps on the floor.
Who: Phoenix Suns (14-9) @ Oklahoma City Thunder (23-1)
When: 5:30 pm Arizona Time
Where: Paycom Arena — Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Watch: Amazon Prime
Listen: KMVP 98.7
The NBA is not a morale victory business, but the last time these two teams matched up, we were treated to an incredible back-and-forth game, one of the few the Thunder have played this season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was too much for the Suns down the stretch in the first matchup. He scored 37 points and got to the free-throw line 17 times. Can the Suns find a way to stop the reigning MVP this time if the game is close late?
The Thunder are a historically dominant team, and look to threaten the all-time regular season NBA record set by the Golden State Warriors in 2016, 73-9. The Suns earned the right to play in the NBA Cup and were rewarded with an extra matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Some reward, right? Talent-wise, this is a David vs Goliath matchup if the Suns are without Devin Booker. Hopefully, the Suns can land enough stones to bring down the NBA giant.
Probable Starters
Injury Report
Suns
- Devin Booker — QUESTIONABLE (Right Groin Strain)
- Jalen Green — OUT (Right Hamstring Strain)
- Isaiah Livers — OUT (Right Hip Strain)
Thunder
- Isaiah Hartenstein — OUT (Right Soleus Strain)
- Isaiah Joe — OUT (Left Knee Contusion)
- Thomas Sorber — OUT (Right ACL Surgery)
- Nikola Topic — OUT (Surgical recovery)
What to Watch For
The Suns and the Thunder are the best two teams in the NBA at forcing steals and taking care of the ball will be crucial to both teams. Devin Booker is questionable to play after suffering a groin injury 10 days ago and has struggled against the Thunder recently. In his last eight games against the Thunder, Booker is averaging 17.2 points on fewer than 13 field goal attempts per game, well below the standard he has set for himself throughout his career.
The Thunder are so talented and complete across the board that anyone can beat you on any given night. Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren are a three-headed monster on both sides of the court, and the Thunder bench is deep and dangerous. Ajay Mitchell has had a breakout season, averaging 14.4 points for the Thunder, and can put the game out of reach in a hurry if the Suns’ bench is unable to contain him.
A win against the Thunder tonight would feel like five wins, and should count as five if they are miraculously able to do it without Devin Booker. Expect to see an extremely physical, relentless, competitive effort from both teams. Dillon Brooks and Lugentz Dort are two of the most pesky players in the league and set the tone for each of their respective locker rooms.
The Suns and Thunder play very similarly, which should make this game entertaining, but unfortunately, the Thunder possess extraordinary talent that the Suns do not.
Key to a Suns Win
Without Isaiah Hartenstein, Mark Williams has to be dominant on both ends of the floor, especially on the boards. If the Suns can win the rebounding battle and create second-chance points, they can win this game. Turnovers will be another storyline to watch; the Thunder are historically good at forcing turnovers and creating easy offense off those turnovers. In their previous matchup, the Suns were outscored 29-12 in points off turnovers, a losing formula. Taking care of the ball and rebounding will make it a game, then it comes down to if the Suns can close out a game against the best clutch player in the NBA.
Prediction
Phoenix gets another moral victory but falls short on the scoreboard, and Oklahoma City guts out a win.
Thunder 105, Suns 101
Well, did you get what you wanted? The good old NBA Cup…are you happy with the result? That is what we were fighting to play in? A 49-point loss?
I keep asking myself why we want to be part of this thing again? Oh yeah. I did not. I am not someone who circles the wagons and shouts I told you so. But tonight I embrace the inner villain and say just that. I told you the NBA Cup was dumb. You can’t see it, but I’m sticking my tongue out as I write these words in a sarcastic, older-brother manner.
Sure, I want the Suns to compete, and I want them to win every game. That is the goal. But they ended up in a spot where they were the doormat in the quarterfinals, lined up against a team that looks historically good.
You can frame it as an opportunity to be on a national stage and sharpen iron with iron. That sounds good in theory. That is not what played out on Wednesday night. Their success in group play put them right in the Thunder’s path, and it cost them a win. They now have the honor of being the only team that gets to play Oklahoma City five times this season. The Thunder look like a group that could threaten the all-time wins record. Cool.
So the question becomes philosophical. Do you tank to avoid the Cup? The simple answer is no. The breaks did not land in the Suns’ favor. Because of it, they can lose two extra games on the schedule. If they had not made the Cup, they would have been lined up with a softer draw. But our reality is they face the Thunder once and then the loser of Lakers and Spurs, which ended up being the Lakers.
You do not want to build a loser’s mentality. You do not want a culture that welcomes losing or tries to steer around specific matchups. That is not how you grow. That said, the NBA Cup keeps turning into an internal enemy for me because I have never liked the circus around it, and my distaste grows with each forced matchup. I do not see its purpose, and I am probably biased because the Suns are now 0-of-2 all-time in Cup play, and if they lose to the Spurs on Friday, the games they were pushed into because of Cup success will put them at 0-of-4.
Maybe it is an odd way to look at it. Maybe I am in my own head when it comes to the Cup. I respect that the Suns went out and tried to compete. The deck was stacked against them. I wish they had been given a path that helped them steal a couple more wins because for a team like this, a couple games can decide a playoff spot or a Play-In spot. At the end of the year, that will matter. And even though I do not like saying I told you so, it is something I will say if we get there.
Bright Side Baller Season Standings
Someone has caught up to Devin Booker. That someone? Mark Williams!
Bright Side Baller Nominees
Game 25 against the Thunder. Here are your nominees:
Dillon Brooks
16 points (4-of-16, 2-of-5 3PT, 6-of-7 FT), 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 0 turnovers, -47 +/-
Jordan Goodwin
15 points (6-of-12, 3-of-5 3PT, 0-of-0 FT), 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, -14 +/-
Jamaree Bouyea
14 points (6-of-9, 2-of-3 3PT, 0-of-0 FT), 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 1 block, -8 +/-
Rasheer Fleming
7 points (3-of-5, 1-of-2 3PT, 0-of-0 FT), 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnovers, -3 +/-
Oso Ighodaro
6 points (3-of-7, 0-of-0 3PT, 0-of-0 FT), 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover, -3 +/-
Grayson Allen 1
0 points (3-of-9, 2-of-7 3PT, 2-of-2 FT), 1 rebound, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, -41 +/-
The polls are open!
After losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder last night in the Quarterfinals of the NBA Cup, the Phoenix Suns will host the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, December 14th 6:00pm Phoenix Time.
The Lakers lost to the San Antonio Spurs last night in the other NBA Cup Western Conference Quarterfinal contest. San Antonio will play the Thunder in Las Vegas on Saturday, December 13th, in the Semifinals.
To start the season, every team starts the season with 80 regular-season games scheduled, and two games are added depending on their NBA Cup group play performance. In the first year of the tournament, the Suns played the Sacramento Kings (who lost in the Quarterfinals to the Pelicans) after losing to the Lakers in the Quarterfinals for their 81st and 82nd games of the season. Last year, after not qualifying for the knockout rounds by a few points despite posting a 3-1 record in group play, the Suns faced off against the Portland Trail Blazers and the Utah Jazz, who also did not qualify for them.
Just like the first season of play, Phoenix will play the loser of the other quarterfinal matchup. The game will be the two teams’ second game in as many weeks, Phoenix’s first game hosting the Lakers of the season, something they’ll do two more times this year, including another time this month. The squads will play a total of five times throughout the regular season, a result that can only occur based on the NBA Cup results.
In the first matchup of the season between the divisional foes, the Suns got the best of the Lakers, beating them 125-108 despite Devin Booker going down in the first quarter with a groin injury. After being out for a week, Booker looks to return to the lineup for the contest.
The Lakers are 17-7 on the year and currently are tied with the Spurs for the fourth seed in the West, while the Suns are 14-11 and are the 7th seed. The game is the next one on both team’s schedules.
