Is the Suns being good just too good to be true?
Share this story
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Phoenix Suns fans saw this last year: excellent point guard play, hot start, top-10 offense and defense, lots of “they’re legit” national takes. So why is this year different?
Should we believe in these Suns (6-2, best record in West), or should we sit back and wait and see more of the season unfold before puffing our chests out?
To be fair, there are a LOT of similarities between the two iterations of Monty-ball.
Last year’s Suns team had excellent point guard play from new acquisition Ricky Rubio, finally letting Devin Booker be his best self as a shooting guard playmaker who didn’t have to do ALL the playmaking anymore. They had solid-to-great contributions on both ends from the center position, lots of help from tertiary players like Dario Saric and Mikal Bridges.
Suns waive Motley, should fill spot with another big
Share this story
Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports
On Saturday night, several NBA teams waived non-guaranteed players in order to avoid guaranteeing any part of their contract once the season starts on Tuesday.
Per Shams, the Phoenix Suns waived Johnathan Motley.
The Phoenix Suns waived forward Johnathan Motley, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA@Stadium. Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 20, 2020
The waiver pops open a roster spot for the Suns in case they want to claim or sign another available player to take his place.
Teams will have 48 hours to claim a player waived today and take over their contract, or the player will become an unrestricted free agent on Tuesday.
Preseason Finale Preview: Suns host Lakers in friendly finale
Share this story
Where: Phoenix Suns arena
Listen: 98.7 FM
For the second time in three nights, the Phoenix Suns will host the world champion Lakers in a preseason game. Get used to it folks, in terms of consecutive games against the same team. Suns will do it again next week, in Sacramento for a pair.
This is the preseason finale for both teams, with a five-day layoff before the games start officially counting. Because of that, and the fact that it’s being aired on ESPN, I expect both the Suns and Lakers will play their starters closer to 30 minutes each. Oh sure, the fourth quarter will be the deep benches again, but those first three quarters could be must-watch TV.
December 16, 2020
Last season, Jayson Tatum took another leap as a superstar. He emerged in the winter as a dominant first option, a player who could handle the ball every possession and defend at an elite level. In 12 February games, he averaged 30.7 points per game on a scorching 48 percent from three, embracing a role as the Boston Celtics’ clear centerpiece. He made the All-NBA third team for the first time and nearly led the Celtics to the NBA Finals.
The Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic made a similar jump, although at a higher level than Tatum Doncic made the first team. These sorts of leaps make or break many teams’ seasons and futures. A younger star rising from an All-Star level to an All-NBA level is significant. In the playoffs, we get more clues to a player’s future, as demonstrated by the immense difference between the performances of Tatum and the Toronto Raptors’ Pascal Siakam in the Eastern Conference semifinals.