Headlines to Watch in Suns' Season Opener

The Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors will reportedly meet on the NBA's opening night this season - here's what to watch.

The Athletic's NBA insider Shams Charania broke news last week that the Phoenix Suns would be part of the NBA's opening night festivities on October 24th. Many believed this was a strong possibility, but assumed the Denver Nuggets would be the matchup. The Suns were instead handed a visit to San Francisco to face the Golden State Warriors. 

Suns-Warriors is very intriguing on many fronts, and it was likely a good decision by the league to pencil it in.

• Kevin Durant's Return
  This is surprisingly going to be Durant's first game played in front of Warriors fans since his Achilles' tear against Toronto in the 2019 NBA Finals. The dynamic between he and the fans will be something to watch. He will likely be met with mostly cheers in lineup introductions, but playing for a division rival now adds a new dynamic to this rivalry. 

• Chris Paul's First Game vs Former Team
  Chris Paul is now in Golden State and will make his Warriors debut against his previous team. Seeing Paul in a Warriors jersey might take time for Suns fans to get used to - as will his presumed role off the bench. It will be interesting to see if he comes into this game with more of an attacking mindset or if he continues the more self-contained facilitator gig. Much of the offseason talk surrounding the Warriors pertained to the belief that Paul's play style might be a direct clash with the space-and-pace offense that Steve Kerr runs. This will be our first look legitimate at these questions.

• Booker vs Thompson
  Booker and Thompson have been competitors for several years as both division rivals and as two of the best at their position. This rivalry boiled over last season when Thompson got ejected from one of the matchups. Thompson took responsibility for his actions and it seems like there isn't much bad blood between the two currently, but it's still an intriguing matchup nonetheless. The Warriors' two-guard may not be the player he once was, but still remains one of the best shooters in the game and still can be a microwave scorer. The Suns' franchise player is one of the premier offensive weapons in the entire league and it should be expected that Thompson will frequently get assigned to him on defense 

• Beal Suns Debut
  Bradley Beal will suit up in a Suns uniform for the first time after 11 seasons with the Washington Wizards. The dynamic combo guard is only two years removed from averaging 30 points a game across an entire season. It will be very interesting to see how the Florida Gator is integrated into the offense- will he act more as a facilitator or scorer? Will being surrounded by the two best players he's ever played with open up opportunities to be as efficient as ever? Will he be able to be more effective on defense in a Vogel-lead system? It may take longer than one game to figure these things out, but the Valley is certainly excited to see their new star.