NBA teams are on their own schedules in the preseason, finding the right mix of run and rest for its most important players while granting extra opportunities to the guys fighting for rotation and roster spots.
After the Phoenix Suns rested key players while the Denver Nuggets played most of them in Phoenix’s other home preseason game, the reverse of that situation occurred on Monday, with Phoenix’s big dogs going against the bottom-half of the Portland Trail Blazers’ roster in a 117-106 win.
Prior to the start of the regular season, the Blazers rested Deandre Ayton, Malcolm Brogdon, Jerami Grant, Anfernee Simons, Matisse Thybulle, and Robert Williams III in their last preseason game.
Due to Jusuf Nurkic’s rest, Drew Eubanks of Phoenix faced Duop Reath of Portland in place of the much-anticipated center battle that had been exchanged after the Suns’ loss to Portland on Thursday.
As I stated, irritating! But that’s simply how the preseason works; when we take a first look at rosters that have been built up after exciting offseasons, we can’t even find the appropriate personnel matches before realizing that, yes, it is the preseason.
On Monday, the schedule went according to plan. Along with the guard Grayson Allen, players Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, and Kevin Durant also participated and started. Although head coach Frank Vogel has since mixed in Allen and Gordon across the three games Booker and Durant have played, wing Josh Okogie initially received the nod as the fifth starter to open preseason action. Gordon had a rest day that would have helped with some hip discomfort, but Okogie did play on Monday, giving Allen an extended opportunity.
In the preseason, the Suns’ overpassing and excessive movement have been a nice problem to have.
Given all the hazards, the space is there almost always down; all that is required is for the proper choice to be made. Vogel will only utilize players who are capable of doing that, and based on how they extend possessions, it’s clear that these players already genuinely like playing with one another. Even though someone is quite open, the Suns merely want to keep things moving. Booker drove hard despite having roughly 10 feet of room on a catch at the top of the key in the middle of the first quarter.
Even when we were on different teams, we continued to play the game the right way, according to Booker. “I think the unique part about us three is that we all have the ability to score at the highest level, but we’ve always played the game the right way. It hasn’t been an adjustment, for real. The only thing I tell them to do is be more aggressive,” he said.
Regarding yet another way the Big 3 are setting an example, Booker stated that “it should be a domino effect from there.”
Through the first few weeks of the regular season, anticipate that those three will continue to experiment with how they want to run the offense.
With Portland as their opponent, the Suns could have lazily floated around the court, but they were clearly intent on using this good run to surpass 70 points for the third time in a row for Booker and Durant.
Durant finished with 19 points in 15 minutes, while Booker finished with 17 points in the first nine minutes. Portland caused 17 turnovers in the first half alone, which the Suns capitalized on with 23 points, which speaks somewhat to who was on the field.
This preseason, Jordan Goodwin has distinguished himself from the players in the back half of the roster by standing out in a positive way. He had four steals in his first four minutes of play, finished with six, and had six rebounds in his first 12 minutes.
Goodwin advised that you “bring a lot of emotion to the game.” You’re going to hear and see that kind of thing all year long. Kind of get lost out there. The crowd enjoys it and gets everyone excited, including my teammates. I’m beginning to feel more at home here and want everyone to accept me for who I am.
Having played just a little over 1,000 minutes in the NBA, Goodwin is already a great perimeter defender, and despite being listed at 6-foot-3, he averaged a double-double in his final two years of college. Finding Goodwin playing time will be difficult for Vogel, but I believe that Goodwin will keep pressing the issue when the coach doesn’t.
On the other side of the court, rookie Toumani Camara, a forward Phoenix selected 52nd overall in the 2023 NBA Draft before including him in the Ayton trade, was given a starting position. Despite selecting Camara so late in the draft, the Suns had high hopes for the 22-year-old rookie’s plug-and-play abilities. Blazers are as well.
Chauncey Billups, the head coach of the Trail Blazers, said before the game, “He’s been such a pleasant surprise for all of us.” “Man, he’s exactly my kind of guy. He simply competes on every play and is aggressive and tough. He is self-assured outside. Simply put, I adore everything about Toumani.
