Takeaways After Suns' Preseason Start
The Phoenix Suns fell to the Denver Nuggets 115-107 in the team's home debut last night. Despite the loss, there were many things that could be looked at as reasons for optimism going forward:
Defense
The Suns did concede 115 points in this game, but the job the team did in containing the Nuggets' star duo of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray was admirable. Jokic and Murray combined to shoot 9-22 from the floor and 1-8 from three-point land.
Suns big man Jusuf Nurkic seemed much more comfortable in coach Vogel's new system, while others such as Nassir Little and Yuta Watanabe showed value as versatile, switchable pieces on the perimeter. Vogel's defensive-minded approach seems to be paying off, at least so far.
There's a lot more basketball to be played to draw strong conclusions.
Shooting
The Suns had yet another impressive performance from behind the arc. Every player on Phoenix hit a three-pointer, save for Nurkic and Drew Eubanks. The Suns shot 14-35 (40%) as a team, actually an improvement from the 14-37 mark against Detroit.
The 28 for 72 mark is impressive through two preseason games, but becomes absurd when the Suns star trio has only played 40 minutes combined through two games.
Players such as Eric Gordon, Yuta Watanabe, and Grayson Allen being kick-out options for the star players is a dangerous proposition for the rest of the league, and this iteration of Suns basketball promises to be more potent from deep compared to past seasons under Monty Williams.
Depth
This is a direct tie-in with the previous points, but it's something that can't be overstated. The Suns having the ability to mix-and-match various lineups wasn't a luxury the team had last season, when Landry Shamet frequented as a sixth man.
Frank Vogel being able to run Okogie, Gordon, Allen, or even Watanabe out in a closing lineup and feeling good about any single one of them is an extreme luxury as we inch closer to the season.
