Game Preview: The Suns return home to face the resurgent Trail Blazers

On By Littum

WHO: Phoenix Suns (13-11) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (8-17)

When: 6:00 p.m. Arizona time

Where: Footprint Center — Phoenix, Arizona

Clock: AZFamily, Suns Live

Listen: KMVP 98.7

The reward for not advancing to the knockout round of the NBA Cup? The Utah Jazz and the Portland Trail Blazers. The Utah Jazz, despite having their best shooting night of the year, lost to the Suns on Friday. Now Phoenix faces a team that has lost five straight games and is currently the 13th seed in the Western Conference. Again, why do you want to go to the NBA Cup? Of course, it’s a place for young players to get some experience in the playoff-like atmosphere, which technically isn’t the playoffs. It’s not the sun, so I don’t care.

Portland is a unique team. Not one of their players averages over 20 points per game. match. Anfernee Simons (17.1 ppg) and Shaedon Sharpe (17.0) lead the offensive attack, but they no longer have the knockout threat they had for over a decade when Damian Lillard was there . There are no more “Dame Time” threes to keep them afloat. Just the hollow list of an ongoing rebuild.

The sun on the other side is supposed to be candidates. They are supposed to be a top team in the Western Conference. The is the highest paid team in basketball. So games like this are must-win games. Not in the literal sense, but in the figurative sense of “help keep me damned healthy”.

You must stack wins against teams you are supposed to beat to climb the rankings. Mission accomplished on Friday. Let’s do that mission again tonight.

Likely starters

Damage report

Sun

  • Bradley Beal — Doubtful (right knee swelling)
  • Collin Gillespie — OUT (fractured right ankle)

Trail Blazers

  • Robert Williams, III — Doubtful (Return to Competition Reconditioning)
  • Deandre Ayton – OUT (illness)
  • Matisse Thybulle — OUT (right ankle sprain)

Uniform Matchup

It’s time for the City Edition…

What to look for

Not Ayton

Well, we won’t see the force known as Deandre Ayton with the glory that comes with 14.2 points and 10 rebounds as a max center. He’s been ruled out with an illness, which is a good thing, because Ayton’s play makes me sick my stomach.

I hear those of you saying: “We traded him two years ago, Voita! THAT is old news! Don’t!”.

I will never let the broken promise of what Ayton could have been go away. The franchise’s only number one pick ever, it was five years of disappointment with one postseason that lived up to expectations. Phoenix could have been a force with Booker, Durant, and Ayton if their center just kept pace.

Now? His lack of competitiveness is another team’s problem.

The turnover game

The Phoenix Suns have a well-documented problem with turnovers, averaging 14.0 per game. game. Despite the presence of Tyus Jones – who leads the league in assists-to-turnovers – they often find themselves as their own worst enemy, giving opponents extra possessions and momentum at critical times.

However, the Portland Trail Blazers aren’t exactly a model of ball security either. With an average of 16.2 turnovers per game – the second most in the NBA – they regularly undermine their own efforts. For a Suns team accustomed to seeing their own missteps unravel games, tonight presents an exciting opportunity to see the shoe on the other foot.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The Suns have a frustrating habit of turning opponents’ weaknesses into strengths. How many times have we seen them allow a struggling team to find their rhythm or let a turnover-prone opponent play clean, efficient basketball? If the Sun isn’t careful, Portland’s Achilles heel could turn into a strength before our eyes.

The key to a Suns win

Defense.

Can the Suns’ defense really shut down any opposing team? Let’s be honest with ourselves, whether Kevin Durant is on the floor or not, the Suns’ defense often feels a step behind. They give up open looks from the perimeter, paint and midrange. Last I checked, those are all the places you can shoot from. It’s a glaring problem that needs to be addressed if they want to compete at the highest level.

In their game against Utah, it felt like the Suns were just one big shot away from putting the Jazz away for the entire second half. But they never quite got there. Time and again they had the chance to deliver the knockout blow, but it eluded them until the final two minutes. At that point they had dragged my emotions far further than I thought necessary.

Such is the nature of basketball. When a team is in the zone, they are in the zone, and on Friday night the Jazz felt it.

The goal tonight is simple: Don’t let the Blazers find the same rhythm the Suns allowed the Jazz to fall into. Granted, this one is at home for Phoenix, which gives them an advantage. Away from home, the home team usually benefits from role players moving up. And Utah, a team loaded with role players, made the most of that advantage. The Blazers are a similar story.

The Suns can’t afford to let Portland get into a groove. But isn’t that something they do all too often?

Forecast

As long as Kevin Durant is in the lineup, I have full confidence in this team. With a 12-2 record when he’s on the field, this feels like a win for Phoenix. It’s the start of two in a row as the Suns continue to stack their chips in the right direction.

Suns 122, Trail Blazers 114