Portland Trail Blazers Key Player Angrily Announce His Exist Due To…..

On New Year’s Day, the Phoenix Suns defeated the Portland Trail Blazers at home to win their fourth straight game. They managed to do so without Kevin Durant, who missed the game due to tight hamstrings and might not be able to play in a few more before making a comeback.

During their six-game homestand, which is the longest stretch of games the Suns will play in The Valley for the remainder of the season, it was crucial for them to win some games, and they have won the first three of them to date. Bol Bol provided assistance in an unexpected way to help the Trail Blazers win.

Center Jusuf Nurkic has been even more crucial to Bol over the past four games; his contributions go well beyond his on-court performance.

Nurkic missed a few games before the current winning run because of a personal issue, which he later disclosed to the media. However, since coming back, he has performed at his consistently high level. In the 109-88 victory over the Trail Blazers, Nurkic contributed with eighteen points and seven rebounds.

With 31 games played so far this season, Nurkic has started every one of them, and his 10.4 boards per game is tied for his second-best career total. Given his questionable injury history, the 29-year-old’s level of dependability was unexpected, and it is a major factor in the success of the trade that saw the Suns acquire him along with Grayson Allen in exchange for Deandre Ayton and Toumani Camara.

This won’t matter much if Nurkic isn’t available in the postseason, but since media day, he has been speaking the right words and demonstrating his desire to help this team win with his on-court performance. Nurkic wants to win big, and he doesn’t care about personal numbers.

Because of this, the remarks made about Devin Booker below following the team’s victory over the Trail Blazers—a game in which Booker struggled and ended with just 10 points—are equally as significant as Nurkic’s on-court contributions. In his remarks to the media, he has demonstrated that he truly puts the needs of the team first.

Speaking about the franchise cornerstone in this manner is a great display of differentiating leadership on Nurkic’s part. But by stating that he believes Booker should make all of the decisions and that the team is only as good as its best player, Nurkic is also sending a message to the other supporting players in the locker room that they must follow Booker’s lead.

which, despite what Eric Gordon’s remarks this season have shown, is much more difficult to actually put into practice. Every player is focused only on winning, but when the chips are down, some of them will have to make some serious sacrifices. In that sense, Nurkic is leading the way, and it was shrewd of him to compliment Bradley Beal on the Suns’ recent return to form.

Since moving to The Valley last summer, Beal has had difficulty getting into games. He first dealt with a persistent back injury before sustaining a painful ankle sprain during a game against the New York Knicks. Since he has resumed playing, the Suns have begun to win more regularly, which may come as no surprise. It was impressive to watch him score a team-high 21 points in the team’s victory over the Trail Blazers.

Nurkic was right to point out that Beal stepped up in a way the organization hasn’t seen thus far this season with Durant out and Booker not feeling it to the tune of those aforementioned 10 points. Knowing that Nurkic appreciates the hard work he’s put in since recovering from an injury will have done his confidence no end.

So while the amount of games played has been a nice surprise – and the 12.8 points and 10.4 rebounds a lovely bonus – Jusuf Nurkic has become the glue guy that the Suns needed from their center position this season. He works diligently on the court, never expects the ball on the offensive end and most importantly, has become a positive voice in the locker-room for this group.

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The Phoenix Suns’ 2023-24 season took a turn for the better on Friday night, with the return of Bradley Beal to the starting lineup. Playing in only his seventh game this season as result of back and ankle injuries, Beal looked rusty in having only six points.

Playing 30 minutes will have given head coach Frank Vogel reason to smile though, as will the seven assists that Beal managed to dish out. Getting to 16-15 before the turn of the calendar year – and after winning back-to-back games no less – is exactly what the Suns needed to have happen before a tough, five game homestand to begin 2024.

It is no secret the Suns have struggled on the defensive end so far this season – and when asked about it after the game – Beal did not shy away from that fact.

Right now the Suns sit 20th (115.6) in defensive rating, and to watch them play is to see a team that struggles to get stops much of the time. While both Kevin Durant and Devin Booker are more than capable on that end, asking them to turn in elite performances defensively each night while also trying to score 30 is a recipe for disaster.

The addition of center Jusuf Nurkic this offseason was designed very much with the offensive end of the court in mind, and defensively he can be slow on rotations and beaten to spots by better bigs. Grayson Allen and Eric Gordon have both been excellent for the group as well, but they do their best work when knocking down open shots from beyond the arc.

In the post-game interview, Beal summed up perfectly where the Suns are at defensively right now, saying;

Beal is nearly right to say that the Suns are at full strength – but they are still missing Josh Okogie – a player who can certainly help on the defensive end. What Beal didn’t address here, was the fact that a fully healthy Suns team isn’t designed to be elite defensively. In fact you could make the case pretty easily that he is a worse defender than both Durant and Booker.

But while it is not clear how much better the Suns can get on this end – in their last 10 games they again sit 20th but with a worse rating of 119.4 – the game plan remains trying to outscore opponents when fully healthy. Given that they have had the best offensive rating in the league in their last two games (135.1), there is reason to believe that can happen.

But while it is not clear how much better the Suns can get on this end – in their last 10 games they again sit 20th but with a worse rating of 119.4 – the game plan remains trying to outscore opponents when fully healthy. Given that they have had the best offensive rating in the league in their last two games (135.1), there is reason to believe that can happen.

Even if coach Vogel isn’t sold yet on the idea of the Suns scoring 120-130 per game, his schemes alone on that end should be able to at least help his team improve a small bit on the defensive end to make up for this. Also not mentioned by Beal are role players like Chimezie Metu and Udoka Azubuike, two individuals who certainly give more on that end than most others on this roster.

Beal did go on to say that the spacing of the group in the win over the Hornets was great, while also pointing out that you can’t guard everything an opponent has in their locker in an NBA. Both of these points are also true – and as long as this team at least tries on the defensive end – while continuing to pile up points on the other end, fans are going to be happy with the effort and output of this group.

Friday night was a good one for the Phoenix Suns, as they finally got Bradley Beal back in their starting lineup again. The 30-year-old appearing for only the seventh time this season, while the six points he put up were nowhere near the levels required if this franchise is to win a first ever NBA Championship. At 13.4 points per game so far this season, his numbers are way down in that area.

There is still plenty of time for Beal to become what it is hoped he will be for the Suns, the best third option offensively in the entire league. But until that happens, there is still plenty he can contribute behind Kevin Durant and Devin Booker for a Suns team that is back above .500 and has a top eight spot in the Western Conference in their sights.

Undoubtedly, one of the secrets to realizing this team’s potential lies in Beal’s underappreciated passing ability.

With seven assists, Beal led the Hornets to defeat. Durant led the way with 11, so this may not seem like much, but it was the same as Booker’s total. When you match the player who has emerged as the team’s point guard this season in assists, you can be confident that you are contributing positively to the team’s success.

Therefore, even though Beal was struggling and his shots weren’t falling, he was still more than happy to inspire his teammates. The Suns are currently 10th in both team assists per game (26.4) and assist percentage (64.5%) among all teams this season. Impressive considering that the team lacks a dependable floor general on the roster save for Jordan Goodwin and Booker.