Enjoy the victories.
Course correction is in place for the Phoenix Suns, at least on the surface. The team is 3-1 in their last four games, all of which featured Bradley Beal coming off the bench. Enjoy the victories, right? The team is now 18-19 and moved up to 11th in the Western Conference standings.
Phoenix led wire to wire against the Utah Jazz on Saturday, and while they didn’t cover the -11.5 spread, the 114-106 win featured them taking care of business. Sure, they are in a stretch in which they are playing what many would define as “lesser competition”. The current combined winning percentage of the teams they’ve played over their last four games is .349. But a win is a win, and we all know Phoenix needs them desperately.
The game against Utah was an example of who the Suns can be when they respect a wounded opponent. Well, that and having that opponent shoot horrificly from beyond the arc.
“These games are sometimes the toughest to wrap your head around because we talk about things you can control and the things you can’t,” Jazz head coach Will Hardy said after the game. “And if you had told me that we were going to come in here against this team tonight that we were going to win the possession game, win points in the paint. We were going to win second-chance points, and they were going to make 25 non-rim twos, and we were going to miss 33 threes. I’d say that sounds like a tough night because I think the first part of that is the things that we try to control if we can. The shot-making is one that we can’t.”
Enjoy the victories. Even if they’re not overly impressive. We need every one of them.
Bright Side Baller Season Standings
Grayson Allen took home 50% of the vote after the Suns win over the Hawks. It’s the first time on the season in which he’s broken the 20-point barrier this season, something he did 14 times a season ago. In doing so, he finds himself on the big board, tied with Nurk Daddy and JO.
Bright Side Baller Nominees
How did the Suns do against the Jazz?
Devin Booker
34 points (12-of-20, 6-of-12 3PT, 4-of-4 FT), 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 0 blocks, 3 turnovers, +16 +/-
Kevin Durant
25 points (11-of-19, 1-of-4 3PT, 2-of-3 FT), 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks, 5 turnovers, -9 +/-
Grayson Allen
14 points (5-of-11, 4-of-10 3PT), 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 0 blocks, 1 turnover, +11 +/-
Mason Plumlee
6 points (2-of-5 FG, 2-of-4 FT), 10 rebounds, 0 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks, 0 turnovers, +22 +/-
Oso Ighodaro
9 points (4-of-6 FG, 1-of-2 FT), 2 rebounds, 0 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 0 turnovers, -13 +/-
Bradley Beal
12 points (4-of-10, 1-of-5 3PT, 3-of-4 FT), 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 0 turnovers, -4 +/-
Ready to vote? Fire away!