Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
This Friday, the (21-22) Phoenix Suns will travel to Minneapolis, MN to take on the (20-22) Minnesota Timberwolves. Tipoff will be at 8:00 PM EST inside the Target Center. This will be the second meeting between these two teams this season, as the Suns won the first match up 129-117.
The Suns are coming into this one after falling to the Denver Nuggets, 126-97. Phoenix struggled on both ends of the floor, as they will have to be more efficient in this game if they want to challenge the Timberwolves on the road.
Minnesota is entering this game after losing to the Detroit Pistons, 135-118. They were horrible on the defensive end of the court, as they will have to contest more shots if they want to take care of business at home.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Phoenix Suns are currently in seventh place in the Western Conference standings, as they trail the first-place Nuggets by eight games. On offense, they are scoring 112.7 points per game and they have shot 46.4% from the floor. This is the 17th most points scored per contest and the 20th-highest team shooting percentage. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Suns have an adjusted offensive rating of 114.4, which is the 10th-highest rating in the NBA. Deandre Ayton continues to lead the way on the offensive end of the court, as he is scoring 17.5 points per game on 59.2% shooting from the floor. Make sure to check the injury report, though. Ayton, Chris Paul, and Landry Shamet are listed as questionable. Luckily, Phoenix has shown that they have multiple players that can heat up from the outside. They are shooting 38.2% from deep, which is the third-highest three-point shooting percentage in the league. The Phoenix Suns have also taken car e of business at the charity stripe, as they have made 79.7% of their shots at the line. This is the eighth-highest free-throw shooting percentage, as they can't afford to miss out on these free points.
On the defensive end of the court, the Suns have also held their own. They are currently surrendering 111.4 points per game and their opponents have shot 47.1% from the floor. This is the 10th least amount of points surrendered per game and the 15th-lowest shooting percentage allowed. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Suns have an adjusted defensive rating of 113, which is the 13th-lowest rating in the NBA. Phoenix has shown that they will contest shots near the rim, but their perimeter defense has hurt them at times. They have allowed their opponents to shoot 36.1% from deep, which is the 20th-highest three-point shooting percentage allowed. The Suns are snatching 43.2 rebounds per game as well. This is the 17th most, as they will have to crash the offe nsive and defensive glass if they want to challenge the Timberwolves on the road.
Injury Report: Chris Paul PG (Hip), Deandre Ayton C (Ankle), and Landry Shamet PG (Hip) are listed as questionable. Cam Payne PG (Foot), Cam Johnson PF (Knee), Devin Booker SG (Groin), and Jae Crowder SF (Personal) are listed as out.
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