Phoenix Suns

Phoenix Suns v Washington Wizards 11/21 Game Preview

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Phoenix Suns (4-10) v Washington Wizards (3-9)

Monday 11/21/2016 5:00pm
Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
Fox Sports Arizona/Arizona Sports 98.7FM

Season Series – 0-0
All-Time Series – Phoenix leads 61-60
Last Matchup – April 1, 2016 Washington won, 106-99
Suns’ Last Game – Loss to Philadelphia 120-105
Wizards’ Last Game – Loss to Miami 114-111
Suns’ Scoring Averages – PTS/G: 108.4 (6th of 30) Opp PTS/G: 114.9 (30th of 30)
Wizards’ Scoring Averages – PTS/G: 102.6 (19th of 30) Opp PTS/G: 106.0 (20th of 30)

Preview

Phoenix Suns

The Suns have continued their early season struggles with a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night, 120-105. Joel Embiid set a career high in scoring with 26 against the Tyson Chandler-less front court…The Suns need to turn this around now…Maybe it is time to Unleash the Dragan…No Suns player averages 20+ points. Devin Booker is closest at 19.7, but has only scored 20+ points once since November 9, a 24 point game in the loss to Denver on November 16…Jared Dudley is shooting an incredible 46.9% from three. His 23 makes lead the team, and his 49 attempts are tied for second with Brandon Knight. Knight has made seven fewer threes, however. Devin Booker leads the team in three-point attempts at 61, but his 17 makes gives him only a 27.9% shooting percentage from long range. So far Booker is shooting .064 worse from outside than his season when he averaged 34.3%…In his limited, though currently expanding, time on the court, Alan Williams is 13-18 from the floor for 72.2%. He is averaging a Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell-like 19.2 points and 18.0 rebounds per 36 minutes…The Suns have four players averaging over 1.0 steals per game, led by T.J. Warren and Tyler Ulis’ 1.9spg. P.J. Tucker (1.2) and Eric Bledsoe (1.1) round out the top four…Phoenix is still top-5 in minutes per game, field goals made and attempted, (first in 2-to field goals made and attempted), free throws made and attempted, offensive rebounds and total rebounds steals, and total points…The Suns average 110.4 points per game on the road, for 4th in the league…

Washington Wizards

The Wizards currently tout five players who average double figure scoring, including former Sun’s Markieff Morris (13.7) and Marcin Gortat (11.5). Marcus Thornton, another former Sun, is sixth on the team in scoring with 7.9…Gortat currently averages a double-double with his 11.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game and has seven double-doubles on the season…John Wall is having an grear year so far, averaging 24.0 points per game, which would set a new career high (his career high is 19.9 set last season). As his scoring has risen this season, Wall’s assist average has dropped, but not significantly. Averaging 10.0 and 10.2 assists per game the last two seasons, Wall is currently averaging 8.3, which is 3.3 higher than his Phoenix counterpart, Eric Bledsoe…Markieff Morris is having a decent year statistically, with his 13.7 points and 65 rebounds per game (his rebounding average is currently a career high). Morris’ 41.4% field goal percentage, however, is the lowest since 39.9% his rookie season…The Wizards do not average in the top-10 in any major offensive statistical category…Granted the two teams play at different paces, but the Wizards hold teams to 23.9 points scoring average in the first quarter, while the Suns allow teams to score 27.1. By contrast, the Suns average 24.7 points in the first whereas the Wizards average 26.4. With the Suns’ recent struggles and their apparent inability to dig themselves out of an early hole, should the Wizards break out on top early, their slow, slogging play might play the Suns out of the ability to make a comeback…