After three regular-season games, the Phoenix Suns were 0-3 and on pace to field one of the worst defenses in league history. The Suns then fired head coach Earl Watson after Phoenix gave up 124, 132, and 130 points in three consecutive games to open the season and tagged assistant Jay Triano as their interim coach.
Since then, the Suns are 15-21 — not an eye-popping record by any means but one that’s good enough to slot Phoenix just four-and-a-half games back of the New Orleans Pelicans for the eighth seed in the West. The Suns are 6-4 in their last 10 and Nuggets coach Michael Malone isn’t taking them lightly, especially after a frustrating loss Saturday night to the Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers that prompted Denver’s coach to expand his seven-and-a-half man rotation because of fatigue.
“Every game scares me, that’s just the reality of being a coach in the NBA,” Malone said. “If we come with the right mindset and the right sense of urgency, we’ll give ourselves a good chance to win.”
The Suns are a top-10 team in transition scoring and points in the paint and corral the fifth-most offensive rebounds per game in the league. But what concerns Malone most about Wednesday’s matchup are the Suns’ two 20-plus per game scorers.
“They have two professional scorers,” Malone said. “Booker and Warren are two guys that can each score 30-40 on a given night. They’re that type of players.”
Malone could have a future career in fortune telling on tap after his coaching days are over. Tuesday night against Atlanta, Phoenix came back from a nine-point deficit with under two minutes remaining to win 104-103.
Booker scored the Suns’ final eight points and was responsible for 12 of the 15 points Phoenix tallied over the game’s final 2:23.
“I think when you have two offensive talents like Booker and Warren they’re never out of a game because those guys can put up numbers in a hurry,” Malone added.
Wednesday night, Gary Harris will draw Booker, who’s averaging 25.2 points per game good for the eighth-best mark in the league. Since returning from a groin injury that sidelined him for nine games, the Kentucky product has scored 32, 26, 32 again and then 34 points Tuesday against Atlanta over his last four games.
Warren registered 31 points versus the Hawks. The 24-year-old did it all from tw0-point range also. On the season, Warren is shooting under 20 percent from distance. Wilson Chandler will guard Warren.
With Malone planning to return to an expanded rotation against Phoenix, Malik Beasley and Torrey Craig will also spend time on the Suns’ two dynamic wings.
The Nuggets will need all their available bodies for tonight’s matchup — one the Nuggets need with a home-heavy schedule in January where Denver will play 10 of their 15 games this month and 17 of their next 24 overall at Pepsi Center. The Nuggets play 13 of their final 21 games this season on the road.
Nuggets Probable Starters
Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Wilson Chandler, Nikola Jokic, Mason Plumlee
Suns Projected Starters
Tyler Ullis, Devin Booker, T.J. Warren, Marquese Chriss, Tyson Chandler.
