Despite a 1-3 start and plenty of unease around the offense, the Suns’ November slate gives them a real chance to settle in. Phoenix has the fewest games in the NBA during the season’s opening month, but the first full month of action brings a stretch of opportunities to build rhythm, especially if the group can start stacking wins and look more connected.
The month opens Monday, November 2nd in San Francisco against the Golden State Warriors, and then the schedule turns into a long stay at home. Phoenix’s longest homestand since February of the 2020-2021 season begins after that trip and runs through a packed run of games: Wednesday, November 4th vs Portland Trail Blazers, Thursday, November 5th vs Orlando Magic, Saturday, November 7th vs Houston Rockets, Monday, November 9th vs San Antonio Spurs, Tuesday, November 10th vs Los Angeles Clippers, Thursday, November 12th vs Charlotte Hornets, and Sunday, November 15th vs Los Angeles Lakers.
That stretch comes with a mix of Eastern and Western Conference opponents, and the Suns were .500 or better against every one of those home teams last season except Houston. The back-to-backs make the homestand tricky, so Phoenix will need depth and balance to get through it cleanly, but the upside is obvious: less travel and more time to recover between games.
After that, the Suns head into one of their longest road trips of the season, a five-game swing that is tied for the longest they’ll have all year. The trip starts with a chance to answer their most recent loss against the Nuggets, then brings a meeting with the Kings, one of the two winless teams left.
Phoenix also plays in two of its three NBA Cup games during that stretch, including the matchup with Houston that will be Jalen Green’s first game at the Toyota Center since being traded for Kevin Durant in 2025. Green missed both games in Houston last year because of hamstring issues.
Once Thanksgiving passes, the schedule shifts again, this time to a pair of games against the league’s newest young headliners. Phoenix will see Cooper Flagg and Darryn Peterson, the first and second picks in the 2025 and 2026 drafts. Peterson has had a rough start in terms of efficiency, while Flagg has already looked like a force on both ends, powering the Mavericks to a surprising 4-2 start and dropping 33 points in a win that handed the Rockets their first loss after Houston opened 5-0.
Those matchups also put a sharper edge on what the Suns chose not to do. The games against Flagg and Peterson will offer a reminder of what Phoenix might have looked like had it gone the rebuild route after its 2022 and 2023 playoff disappointments instead of pushing all in for Bradley Beal, a move that left the franchise without draft capital after the earlier trade for Kevin Durant.
In Other News...
Suns Face A Tough Rasheer Fleming Debate They Cant Ignore
Rasheer Flemings role in Phoenix has been easy to overlook so far, which is part of what makes the conversation around him worth having. He has appeared in only two games for the Suns and is not currently part of the main rotation under head coach Jordan Ott, a reality shaped by a team trying to keep its defensive structure intact while also giving minutes to other pieces, including Miles Bridges.
Still, Flemings situation is not just about present-day rotation math. The Suns are clearly weighing whether he can grow into the kind of two-way forward who fits next to Devin Booker, and that development path may end up deciding how much patience the organization is willing to show. For now, his opportunity remains limited, but the longer-term question is whether he can force his way into a more meaningful place in the lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Loss Put Two Frustrating Lineup Debates Front And Center
A tense night against Denver ended with more than just a loss hanging over the Suns, as Dillon Brooks was tossed after being assessed a flagrant 2 for kicking Jamal Murray in the groin area. Jordan Ott and several teammates pushed back on the severity of the ruling, while Murray said there had been trash talk but did not believe the play was necessarily malicious. It was the kind of sequence that can linger beyond one game, especially when emotions are already running high.
The other issue was less dramatic but just as relevant for Phoenixs rotation. Jalen Green stayed in the starting lineup even with limited offensive production, while Collin Gillespie gave the second unit a lift and Oso Ighodaro made a noticeable impact in his return from injury with rebounds and assists. For a team still sorting out its best combinations, the loss in Denver put two lineup debates right back in the spotlight. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Already Facing One Frustrating Problem In This 1-3 Start
The early going has already put the Suns in a familiar kind of bind, with a 1-3 start exposing how hard it has been to put together a full 48 minutes. Phoenix has had stretches where the offense looks organized and the defense holds up, but those moments have not lasted long enough, and the inconsistency has shown up on both ends of the floor. Jordan Ott and the players have both pointed to the same issue: the team has had trouble sustaining energy and execution from one quarter to the next.
Injuries have only made the margin for error thinner. Oso Ighodaro and Mark Williams have both been part of the frontcourt mix, and their absences have left Phoenix short-handed in areas that matter most for rebounding and defense. For a team still trying to find its footing this season, the frustration is not just the record, but the sense that the Suns know exactly what is going wrong and still have to solve it before the schedule starts to press harder. [Read more 🡒]