Game Preview: Suns face a massive post break test against surging Spurs squad

Who: Phoenix Suns (32-23) vs. San Antonio Spurs (38-16)

When: 6:30pm Arizona Time

Where: Moody Center— Austin, Texas

Watch: Arizona’s Family 3TV, Arizona’s Family Sports

Listen: KMVP 98.7

The Phoenix Suns enter the final stretch run of the season with one of the hottest teams in the NBA, the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs have won six straight and are the second-best team, record-wise, in the Western Conference. However, this season, the Suns have had the Spurs’ number, winning both contests decisively. In the first game with Victor Wembanyama in the lineup, the Suns shot a blistering 19-for-33 from the 3-point line and held Wembanyama to 9 points in 34 minutes. It was the first time this Suns team showed signs of being a playoff team this season. In the second matchup, the Suns won comfortably with Wembanyama out due to injury.

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Unlike the Spurs, the Suns entered the All-Star break running on fumes. In their last 10 games before the break, the Suns were 5-5 with blowout losses to the Clippers and Thunder. The Suns needed the break to regroup and recover before making their final push of the season. The Suns will almost be at full strength, but Dillon Brooks will miss this matchup because of a one-game suspension for all of his technical fouls. Can the Suns end the Spurs’ win streak and take the first step post All-Star break to climb into the top six seeds of the Western Conference?

Probable Starters

Injury Report

Suns

• Dillon Brooks — OUT (Suspension)

• Cole Anthony — OUT (Not With Team)

Spurs

• Harrison Ingram — OUT (G-League Two-Way)

• David Jonas Garcia — OUT (G-League Two-Way)

• Mason Plumlee — OUT (Return to competition conditioning)

• Stanley Umude — OUT (G-League Two-Way)

• Lindy Waters III — OUT (Left Knee)

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What to Watch For

As exciting as this game looks on paper, it will likely come down to who can shake off the vacation cobwebs first. This game could be won or lost with sloppy play in the first quarter. This will be the first time this season the Suns will see a fully healthy Spurs unit, with both Fox and Wembanyama missing previous matchups. The Spurs’ defense with Wembanyama in the lineup is dominant. They are third in defensive rating, second in defensive rebounding percentage, and second in fastbreak points given up.

One of the key areas for the Suns’ success this season has been on the margins, and the Spurs do not give up fastbreak points or offensive rebounds. Look for the Suns to take a lot of threes and turn up the aggressiveness on defense to try to force the Spurs to commit turnovers. This strategy worked the first time the Suns played Wembanyama, where they held him to a season low of 9 points. Can the Suns replicate that defensive performance again?

Key to a Suns Win

The Suns need big games from their 3-point shooters. Royce O’Neale, Collin Gillespie, and Jordan Goodwin will need to stretch the floor and force Wembanyama away from the basket. If the Spurs can load up against Devin Booker and Jalen Green, it will be a long night of bad offense and difficult shots. For Booker specifically, he has only played in two games since January 23, a loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Now that he looks healthy after his ankle injury, he needs to be at his best in scoring and playmaking for his teammates for the Suns to win, especially without Brooks in the lineup.

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Prediction

The Suns come out fast, focused, and Booker leads the Suns with a double-double to beat the Spurs.

Suns 118, Spurs 110