Phoenix Suns (9-22) v San Antonio Spurs (25-6)
Thursday 12/29/2016 7pm
Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, AZ
Fox Sports Arizona/Arizona Sports 98.7FM
Season Series – Series is tied 0-0
All-Time Series – Phoenix leads 27-12
Last Matchup – February 2, 2016, Toronto won 104-97
Suns’ Last Game – Loss to the San Antonio Spurs 119-98
Raptors’ Last Game – Loss to the Golden State Warriors 121-111
Suns’ Scoring Averages – PTS/G: 107.3 (8th of 30) Opp PTS/G: 114.2 (29th of 30)
Raptors’ Scoring Averages – PTS/G: 111.4 (3rd of 30) Opp PTS/G: 103.0 (13th of 30
Preview
Phoenix Suns
The Suns lost to San Antonio last night in a game the Spurs played without their best player, Kawhi Leonard, who was out with gastroenteritis. Even though the Spurs were short-handed and the Suns held a lead at halftime for the first time against San Antonio in three seasons, the Spurs’ methodical-passing and probing offense coupled with the Suns’ motionless offense prevented the road team from pulling out the upset as San Antonio used another big fourth quarter to blow the Suns out. For a full recap and the official opinions of the Valley of the Suns, read here…Phoenix continues to rank at or near the bottom of the league in three very important, and telling, categories. With 18.5 assists per game (they had 20 against San Antonio), the Suns are still 30th overall. With 25.4 personal fouls per game, they Suns are also ranked last. With 16.3 turnovers per game, the Suns are ranked 28th overall…While they are allowing 114.2 points per game , their worst allotment in 47 years, they are giving up 122.0 over their last three games, worst in the league…In their last three home games they are only giving up 112.1 per game, although that too is last in the NBA…In the most recent three game stretch, the Suns are allowing a 57.8% eFG%, second worst behind only the Dallas Mavericks and their 59.9%. The Suns still allow 52.7% eFG% on the season…The fourth quarter has been a troublesome one for the Suns all season, and they are worst in the league in fourth quarter defensive scoring allowed with 28.8 points, nearly a point and a half more than second worst, Brooklyn. What is worse, is that the Suns are actually a worse 4th quarter defensive team at home than on the road, allowing 30.3 points per fourth quarter…Eric Bledsoe is no longer averaging over 20 points per game as he has slipped to 19.9, though he still leads the team in scoring…Devin Booker didn’t hit a three-point field goal for the first time in 18 games against San Antonio and finished with 8 points, the second fewest points he has scored this season ahead of only 7 points scored against Golden State on October 28…T.J. Warren appears to back to his old scoring form, although he is still coming off of the bench. The best all-around player on the team, he is averaging 16.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.5 steals…Dragan Bender has finally received solid playing time these last two games and has responded averaging 11.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 1.5 three’s, and is shooting 60% from the field.
Toronto Raptors
The Suns are a high volume fouling team, unfortunately the Toronto Raptors make their free throws, 80.8% of them, good for 3rd in the NBA…Unlike the Suns who are near the bottom of the category, the Toronto Raptors protect the ball better than any team in the league, averaging a league-best 11.7 per game. Conversely, they also steal the ball about as good as anyone, sandwiched between the leader Golden State and 3rd ranked Phoenix, sitting at 2nd with 9.3 per game…The Raptors are a deadly shooting team and lead the league with a 116.6 ORtg. They are 3rd overall in FG%, shooting 47.2%, 3rd overall in 3PT% with 39.3%, and 5th in the league with an eFG% of 52.9%… Defensively, they are 21st in the league with a 51.2% eFG%, so if the two teams get in a shootout, the Suns might have an opportunity to stay in it, if they are hitting their shots…Stopping the Raptors from scoring begins with slowing down or stopping DeMar DeRozen who is having a fantastic year averaging 27.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.4 steals…Toronto point guard Kyle Lowry too is playing fantastically, averaging 22.1 points, 7.3 assists, and 4.7 rebounds, per game. Lowry is also a 3PT assassin, shooting 3.4 of 7.5 per game from beyond the arc, for a sizzling 44.9%, tied for 5th in the league. His 105 made three-point shots are 3rd most made in the league, and only 18 total behind leader Steph Curry…Jonas Valanciunas is a double-double magnet for Toronto. Averaging 12.2 points and 9.6 rebounds, recording 11 double-doubles, including five of his last eight games…
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