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Suns Notes: Durant, Craig, Paul, Foster

April 19th, 2023 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Durant believes the playoffs are presenting the Suns with their first real test since he was acquired from Brooklyn at the trade deadline, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. An MCL sprain and a sprained left ankle limited Durant to eight regular season games with Phoenix. They were all victories, which made a lot of observers believe the new-look Suns might steamroll their way through the postseason.

It was somewhat surprising to see the Clippers win Game 1 in Phoenix and then stay competitive for much of Game 2 before the Suns pulled away. Durant expected the series to be challenging, but he’s happy with his team’s position after two games.

“Towards the end of the season, we played some solid ball, but that’s not much you can take from that,” he said. “A lot of teams weren’t playing their guys. This is kind of like the first real look at us as a team against some great competition. I like where we are. Unfortunately, we lost Game 1, but it’s always good to get a W. I’m looking forward to the next game.”

There’s more from Phoenix:

  • The Suns have been looking for someone to give them consistent playoff minutes alongside their four stars, and Torrey Craig has filled that role so far, Rankin adds. In addition to guarding Kawhi Leonard, Craig posted a personal playoff high of 22 points in the series opener and followed that with 17 points in Game 2. “We need him to continue to be confident to shoot the ball,” Durant said. “He understands that teams are going to play a little gimmicky and throw a big on him or just leave him wide open and give him the 3. He’s got to make them pay and I think he’s been doing a great job of it so far.”
  • Chris Paul addressed his 13-game losing streak in playoff games officiated by Scott Foster, which came to an end with the Suns’ victory Tuesday night, Rankin states in another Arizona Republic story. “The league knows what it is,” Paul said. “Can’t control it. Haven’t been able to control all the other ones so it’s not going to change now.”
  • X-rays taken on Paul’s right hand after Game 2 came back negative, tweets Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.
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Suns Notes: Durant, Irving, Booker, Roster Depth

March 6th, 2023 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Playing his first close game since joining the Suns, Kevin Durant provided a reminder of what a dangerous clutch-time scorer he can be, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Durant had 37 points in Sunday’s win at Dallas and hit a tough jumper over Tim Hardaway Jr. with 12.4 seconds remaining that proved to be the game-winner.

“Once I had him on my hip, I felt like I was in good position to just stop on a dime,” Durant said. “Glad I made it.”

In just his third game since returning from an MCL sprain, Durant was supposed to be on a minutes restriction. However, coach Monty Williams allowed him to stay on the court for 40 minutes as the game remained close throughout.

“I was out there for a while,” Durant said. “I didn’t look over to (Williams) on purpose. I wanted to keep playing, but I’m glad he trusted me out there. Glad the training staff trusted me. Hopefully we can build on this from here.”

There’s more on the Suns:

  • There was drama surrounding Sunday’s game because it marked the first meeting between Durant and Kyrie Irving since they both asked the Nets for a trade last month. But Durant said afterward that he had “no emotions at all,” noting that he played against Irving many times before they teamed up in Brooklyn, Rankin adds. In an appearance on ESPN’s “Get Up” Monday morning (video link), Brian Windhorst observed that Durant and Irving didn’t interact at all during the game, adding, “The only relationship they have right now is zero relationship.”
  • The Suns’ rivalry with the Mavericks was punctuated by a verbal altercation between Devin Booker and Luka Doncic late in Sunday’s game, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN. After Doncic missed a floater in the final seconds that would have tied the score, he took exception to a comment from Booker and they went nose to nose before being separated. “You guys say you don’t want everybody to be friendly-friendly,” Booker told reporters. “Here you go. We got some smoke.”
  • The Suns are considered to be among the favorites in the West after adding Durant, but they’ll need to overcome a lack of depth after giving up important rotation pieces in the trade with Brooklyn, Windhorst writes in an ESPN story. He notes that Josh Okogie, who has been inserted into the starting lineup, missed all eight of his three-point attempts Sunday, while Torrey Craig was just 1-of-4 from beyond the arc.
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Suns Notes: Durant, Okogie, Craig, Ross, Sarver

February 22nd, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Suns forward Kevin Durant is nearing a return from his MCL sprain, but it may not happen on Friday in his new team’s first game after the All-Star break, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said during a TV appearance (Twitter video link).

According to Windhorst, the tentative plan is to have Durant take part in a 5-on-5 contact workout on Thursday in Phoenix and to see how his knee reacts to that session. If all goes well, it’s possible Durant could make his Suns debut on Friday, but Windhorst believes that Sunday afternoon’s game in Milwaukee or Wednesday’s contest in Charlotte are more likely target dates for Durant and the team.

Here’s more on the Suns:

  • Once Durant is healthy, he’ll be one of four players locked into the starting lineup, along with Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and Deandre Ayton. With the fifth spot in the Suns’ starting group still up for grabs, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports considers whether Josh Okogie, Torrey Craig, or Terrence Ross would be the most logical fit in that role.
  • Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic views Craig as the best candidate to fill out the starting five, but suggests Ross might be a better fit in the club’s closing lineup. Rankin also identifies a few other five-man groups that the Suns might utilize once Durant is available, including the club’s best “small” and “big” lineups.
  • Although Robert Sarver no longer owns the Suns or the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, his one-year suspension from the NBA remains in effect, sources tell Rankin. Certain terms of that suspension – such as a ban from attending the league’s Board of Governors meetings – are no longer relevant, but the suspension also barred Sarver from attending any NBA or WNBA games.
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Pacific Notes: James, Vezenkov, Craig, Okogie

February 19th, 2023 at 8:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

LeBron James has battled knee soreness recently but he vows to stay on the court for the remainder of the season, Joe Vardon of The Athletic writes. James doesn’t want the Lakers to miss the playoffs for a second consecutive year.

“These are 23 of the most important games of my career,” James said on Sunday. “I’m going to figure out ways to make sure I’m available and on the floor for every single one of these 23 (Lakers) games.”

The Lakers, who have the Western Conference’s 13th-best record, are two games behind the Thunder for the final play-in spot.

“I want to make a push to make the playoffs,” the Lakers superstar said. “I see myself not being kept out of the postseason two years straight. That’s not part of my DNA. We’re sitting here talking about the (scoring) record, things of that nature, but I’m more passionate about us trying to make the postseason and give us another chance to hold the Larry O’Brien Trophy. That’s what I am cut from.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

  • De’Aaron Fox believes Sasha Vezenkov would fit right in with the Kings, Sacramento radio reporter Sean Cunningham tweets. “Obviously, we would love for him to come over and just add to our team. I feel like you can never have a team that’s too deep,” Fox said. Kings assistant coach Jay Triano visited Europe this week to scout the EuroLeague star, whose NBA rights are held by Sacramento. Domantas Sabonis also endorses bringing in Vezenkov, who is having a stellar season in Greece for Olympiacos, according to Eurohoops.net. “He’s a great player, very talented. He’s playing great in Europe with Olympiacos. They’re doing amazing in EuroLeague. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but we obviously would love to have him here,” Sabonis said.
  • Torrey Craig and Josh Okogie are vying for the final spot in the Suns starting lineup following the addition of Kevin Durant, Dana Scott of Arizona Republic notes. They’re not sure what coach Monty Williams will do. “I’m pretty sure the coaches will figure it out. The same with the second unit, don’t know how it’s going to look either. So I guess you’ll have to wait and see,” Craig said.
  • In case you missed it, the Clippers signed shooting guard Nate Darling to a two-way contract. Get the details here.
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Chris Paul Set To Return For Suns

December 7th, 2022 at 10:40am CST by Luke Adams

Suns point guard Chris Paul intends to make his return to the court on Wednesday night vs. Boston after missing the last month due to a heel injury, according to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report, who says (via Twitter) that Paul is expected to suit up barring a last-minute setback.

Paul last played on November 7 in Philadelphia. He has missed 14 games as a result of what the team has referred to as right heel soreness and is officially listed as questionable for Wednesday’s contest.

The Suns, who began the season with seven wins in 10 games, haven’t missed a beat without Paul available, going 9-5 since he went down. The 16-8 squad holds the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of the 15-8 Pelicans. Incidentally, Phoenix will face New Orleans three times in the next 10 games, so Paul should be available for those showdowns against his old team.

In Paul’s absence, Cameron Payne has been the Suns’ starting point guard and has thrived, averaging 15.1 PPG and 7.3 APG with a .395 3PT% in his 14 starts. He figures to continue playing a major rotation role even with CP3 back in the lineup.

Landry Shamet and two-way player Duane Washington also picked up some ball-handling responsibilities while Paul was out, but Washington likely won’t be part of the rotation, while Shamet will return to an off-ball role.

Suns forward Torrey Craig, who has missed the last three games due to a right groin strain, is also listed as questionable and is a candidate to return vs. the Celtics, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic writes.

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Western Notes: Leonard, George, Powell, Poeltl, Collins, Craig, Payne

November 22nd, 2022 at 10:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers have been extremely cautious with Kawhi Leonard this season and he’ll miss another game on Wednesday, though it doesn’t involve his surgically repaired knee. Leonard is listed out due to a right ankle sprain, according to the team’s PR department. The 31-year-old has only played in five games this season.

The Clippers’ other star forward, Paul George, will miss his second consecutive game due to a right hamstring tendon strain.

We have more from the Western Conference:

  • Clippers coach Tyronn Lue is touting Norman Powell as a potential Sixth Man of the Year candidate, Janis Carr of the Orange County Register writes. Powell is averaging 16.2 points in the past 10 games, including a 30-point outing against Utah on Monday. “Like I said, Sixth Man of the Year, that should be his goal, and he has a great opportunity to do that, having 30 points on 15 shots off the bench,” Lue said. “Very efficient. And we need him to play well especially with guys being out and he’s stepping up, playing well for us.”
  • Jakob Poeltl is in his walk year and the Spurs big man knows he could be traded for assets this season, Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News reports. “I’m aware of the possibility, but it doesn’t affect my mindset during this season,” Poeltl said. “It’s a possibility at all times in the NBA. Sometimes there’s more trade rumors, sometimes there’s less.” Poeltl is averaging career highs in points (13.6), rebounds (9.8) and assists (3.6).
  • Another Spurs big man, Zach Collins, is likely to return after a nine-game absence. He’s listed as probable for Wednesday’s game against New Orleans, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News tweets. He suffered a non-displaced fracture of his fibula earlier this month.
  • Torrey Craig and Cameron Payne have been thrust into the Suns’ starting lineup due to injuries to Cameron Johnson and Chris Paul, respectively, and they’ve been quite productive, Gerald Bourguet of GoPhnx.com notes. Craig is averaging 13.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in the last four games, while Payne is averaging 19.3 points, 6.1 assists and 3.4 rebounds through the last seven games. “We’re lucky to have the depth that we have,” Paul said.
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Pacific Notes: Lakers, Clippers, Conley, CP3, Suns

November 8th, 2022 at 9:56am CST by Luke Adams

Even though they lost their first five games of the season, the Lakers were playing fairly solid defense during that slump, but their defensive numbers have dropped off substantially during their recent three-game losing streak. Head coach Darvin Ham is convinced that those struggles won’t last, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

“I would say this, man. And write it, quote it, however,” Ham told reporters on Monday. “This may be happening now at the outset of what we’re trying to force to be a culture change in terms of getting us back to being highly competitive on a highly consistent basis, but it’s not going to always be like this.

“We’re going to turn the corner. I didn’t come here to lose. They didn’t bring me here to lose.”

As McMenamin writes, Ham believes that significant roster turnover from last season to this season is a factor in the Lakers’ 2-8 start, as are injury issues — three starters, LeBron James, Patrick Beverley, and Lonnie Walker, sat out Monday’s loss to Utah.

“There is a process involved where we have to go through tough times,” Ham said. “Like, I want to bottle this up. I want to embrace it. I want to have it and store it so when things are turned around and we get too comfortable and we start complaining about some problems that are not even necessarily problems — problems that winning teams go through — I want to be able to reflect on these times.”

Anthony Davis told reporters on Monday that a 2-8 start is “a hard pill to swallow,” but noted that there’s still plenty of time to turn things around.

“I think New Orleans was 1-12 or something last year, come back and go on a run,” Davis said. “We’ve got to put it together. Offense has found its rhythm. It seems like we’ve lost all our defensive intensity. And that’s what’s killing us.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • Jazz point guard Mike Conley believed at one point during the offseason that he was headed to Los Angeles, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic. As Jones reports, Conley received a message from someone he trusted saying that he could be traded to the Clippers, but the team ultimately signed John Wall instead to fortify the point guard spot.
  • Already missing one starter, the Suns lost another in Monday’s game, as point guard Chris Paul exited in the second quarter due to right heel soreness and didn’t return. However, Paul doesn’t believe the injury will be a long-term concern, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Asked if not returning to Monday’s game was mostly about he and the team taking a cautious approach to the injury, Paul replied, “Yeah.”
  • Suns head coach Monty Williams said on Monday that the team may take a committee approach to replacing Cameron Johnson‘s minutes at power forward, Bontemps writes. Torrey Craig has gotten the first chance to take Johnson’s spot in the starting five, but Damion Lee, Dario Saric, and Jock Landale are also candidates for an eventual promotion, according to Williams.
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Pacific Notes: DiVincenzo, Kuminga, George, Johnson, Craig

November 6th, 2022 at 4:43pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said on Sunday that injured wing Donte DiVincenzo practiced with the club today, but is not set to return to the floor just yet, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link). Golden State is targeting its Friday game for a DiVincenzo return, Andrews reports.

Andrews adds (via Twitter) that second-year swingman Jonathan Kuminga is going to join the Warriors’ revised rotation as the defending champs look to rebound from a five-game losing streak that has sunk their early record to 3-7. Andrews notes that Kerr has indicated he will be making other tweaks to the club’s lineups, but did not expound on that.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

  • With starting Suns power forward Cameron Johnson now out for a while following meniscus surgery, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports examines how his extended absence could impact the rest of the club’s roster. With Phoenix reserve Torrey Craig shifted into the starting lineup, Bourguet contends that the Suns could struggle thanks to a shortened bench and the loss of three-point shooting that arrives in the transition from Johnson to Craig. While Craig is connecting on 40.9% of his triples, he is taking just 2.4 attempts a game. Johnson was nailing 43.1% of his treys on a much more robust 6.4 looks a night.
  • Craig performed well as head coach Monty Williams‘s choice to replace Johnson in the Suns‘ starting lineup, and appears to be in line for a big uptick in the weeks to come with Johnson out, according to Dana Scott of The Arizona Republic. “It’s been good,” Williams said of Craig’s performance. “He’s been thrown into a number of situations with us and I thought his energy [in the team’s 102-82 blowout of the Trail Blazers Saturday] was great.”
  • Clippers All-Star forward Paul George has stepped up in the absence of injured fellow All-Star Kawhi Leonard, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Leonard has only been able to suit up for two games thus far as he deals with right knee stiffness. In three straight Leonard-less wins, George has averaged 31.2 PPG, 6.1 APG and 5.0 RPG.
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Western Notes: Craig, Snyder, Kings, Pelicans

May 10th, 2022 at 7:31pm CST by Luke Adams

Torrey Craig missed the last two games of the Suns‘ series vs. Dallas due to a right elbow contusion, but said today that he’s ready to go for Game 5, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link).

Craig only played six total minutes in the first two games of the series and hasn’t logged more than 11 minutes in a single playoff contest to date, so his availability won’t have a major impact on the Suns’ rotation.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

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Western Notes: Murray, Green, Craig, Towns

March 20th, 2022 at 9:45pm CST by JD Shaw

Nuggets star Jamal Murray isn’t close to returning from a torn ACL, head coach Michael Malone said on Sunday, as relayed by Mike Singer of the Denver Post (Twitter link). Murray suffered the injury 11 months ago and an ESPN report from last month suggested he could return before the playoffs.

Murray, who spent some time with the Grand Rapids Gold earlier this month, may rejoin the team’s G League affiliate for another block of practices, Malone added. No timetable was revealed for a possible return.

Murray averaged a career-high 21.2 points per game before sustaining the injury last season, shooting 48% from the floor and 41% from deep. The Nuggets own the seventh-best record in the West (42-30) despite his absence. The team has also dealt with other significant losses — including Michael Porter Jr. (back) — and should be viewed as a legitimate contender at full strength.

Here are some other notes from the West:

  • In a separate story for the Denver Post, Mike Singer examines how JaMychal Green‘s leadership has been valuable for the Nuggets. Green lit a fire in the team’s huddle against Philadelphia last Monday, helping motivate them en route to a 114-110 win, Singer shares.
  • Suns wing Torrey Craig stepped up in the absences of Jae Crowder (groin) and Cameron Johnson (quad) against the Bulls on Friday, as relayed by the Arizona Republic. Craig finished with 14 points and nine rebounds as a starter, shooting 5-of-5 from the floor in 31 minutes of action.
  • Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns expressed confidence in his squad after winning its fourth straight game, Dane Moore of Bring Me The News tweets. Minnesota defeated Milwaukee 138-119 on Saturday. The team is 9-1 in its last 10 games, leading Towns to make the following statement: “Any time we step on the court, we should win… We feel we can beat anybody.”
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