Kembali
PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns' lone win of the regular season came against a massively depleted Golden State Warriors squad over a week ago, though Monday night's matchup back in the Bay Area could sing a different tune.
The Warriors rested plenty of their stars for the first night of their back-to-back on Sunday, a 124-112 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Golden State, per NBA rules, is required to reveal their injury report for today at noon local time (1:00 PM AZ time) and it's expected the Warriors will get a few names back.
It's a tale of two different trajectories meeting at Chase Center.
Since losing the Phoenix, the Warriors (4-3) have reeled off four consecutive wins and are slight favorites to extend that streak tonight. Golden State has a 55.3% chance to win per ESPN's basketball index and are 2.5 point favorites on the spread.
The Suns, meanwhile, are losers of two in a row entering tonight with a 1-3 record. Phoenix is very much scrambling to figure themselves out in the infant stages of the season.
Star rookie Yaxel Lendeborg has propelled the Warriors during their current win streak, averaging 22.3 points per night to pair with 7.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists. He dropped 37 last night against the Clippers.
Much of this matchup rests on who the Warriors may or may not have available. For the Suns, only Mark Williams and Drew Timme headline their side of the injury report.
Entering tonight, the Warriors lead the NBA in three-pointers made and passes made per game. Golden State swings the rock, and they do it well.
The Suns play at the fourth-slowest pace of any NBA team and are near the top of the league in pull-up points, making tonight a fairly different contrast in terms of play-style.
Phoenix didn't have Oso Ighodaro available for their last matchup against the Warriors, which could change things. Devin Booker also exploded for 43 points, which is unlikely to happen again.
If the Warriors can even get one big name back into the lineup, that would spell bad news for a Suns team looking to get themselves back on the right track. Phoenix, playing at home, struggled against a Golden State team that was playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
Now, on the road, that same story is being written.
The Suns have plenty of questions they're asking themselves in terms of identity — who they are — and what can be done to find the win column for the second time all season.
The Warriors figure to have a few answers for them.