So much for the buzz around the return of Phoenix Suns basketball. Opening night turned into a 124-83 blowout at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers, and the early verdict on the Miles Bridges deal is already looking rough.
Bridges was on the floor for 29 minutes, matching Devin Booker for the team high, but he only managed eight points on 3-of-11 shooting and missed all five of his attempts from beyond the arc. For a player brought in to create his own offense and someone who has averaged 20 points over a full season before, that kind of night does not move the needle.
The opponent made the letdown sting even more. Portland is not being treated as some Western Conference giant, and the expectation is that the Trail Blazers will be in the same neighborhood as the Suns when it comes to the lower end of the playoff and play-in race. Still, they handled Phoenix with ease, while the Suns’ backcourt of Booker and Jalen Green was kept in check as the two combined for 39 points.
That leaves a messy question hanging over Phoenix: how exactly is this group supposed to stack up against the best teams in either conference? It does not help that the Suns sent their 2033 unprotected first to Charlotte, making that pick the last real hope attached to the future.
Bridges will almost certainly have better nights than this, but the Suns need much more from him, especially with Dillon Brooks alongside him in the frontcourt. During training camp, Bridges talked up his defensive effort, and that has not shown up yet.
Former Suns draft pick Toumani Camara made the pain even sharper. He was the best defender on the court and also scored 18 points.
In a game decided by a wide margin, the plus/minus numbers can get warped, but a +32 still tells you plenty. Camara had been identified as someone who could cause trouble for Phoenix from the start, and he did exactly that.
The broader issue is even uglier for the Suns: they need more first-round picks, and they need them soon. No other team is likely to pay a first for Bridges, which only makes the summer decision to give one up look worse. The front office is now stuck trying to replenish the cupboard before the end of the decade turns into a stretch of Booker carrying a bad supporting cast with nowhere to go.
Booker is also the one player who could bring back the kind of draft assets Phoenix desperately wants, but owner Mat Ishbia has said they will not trade him. The last lottery pick the Suns added was Khaman Maluach in the Kevin Durant trade, and even after a quiet opener, there is still belief in his upside around the league media.
It was a brutal first night, and it is fair to expect Bridges to be better. But the game also exposed the risk Phoenix took: some nights he will give them very little on either end, and if the team extends him, that cost only gets harder to swallow.
In Other News...
Bookers Rough Suns Opener Already Has Fans Fired Up
The Suns did not get the kind of opening night they wanted, with Portland jumping out to a big lead after the first quarter and the early tone of the game turning chippy fast. Devin Booker was right in the middle of it, and so was Ja Morant, whose first game with the Trail Blazers after the trade from Memphis brought plenty of extra attention to a matchup that already had a lot riding on it for Phoenix.
What followed was less about rhythm and more about edge, with multiple on-court confrontations between Booker and Morant that included a physical brush and verbal back-and-forths. The situation escalated enough to bring double technical fouls, and for Suns fans trying to size up what this team looks like in a new season, the night already carried the kind of tension that can linger long after the final buzzer. [Read more 🡒]
Suns May Be Better But The West Just Got Tougher
The Suns head into the new season with a familiar core and a few additions that should help on both ends of the floor, which gives them a reasonable case for being better than they were a year ago. Continuity matters in the NBA, especially for a team trying to stack wins in a conference where every edge can matter, and Phoenix is banking on its returning pieces settling in quickly.
The problem is the rest of the West did not sit still. Several rivals made major moves, and others are getting key players back from injury, which means the path for Phoenix could be steeper even if the roster itself is improved. For a team with bigger ambitions, the question is not only whether the Suns got better, but whether that will be enough in a conference that suddenly feels even more crowded. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Rookie Suddenly Faces A Huge Opening Night Opportunity
Khaman Maluachs first regular season game is coming with a little more weight than anyone could have expected a few weeks ago. The rookie center has been slotted into the Suns opening-night lineup as Phoenix sorts through the ripple effects of Mark Williams shoulder surgery, a development that leaves the frontcourt looking different right away and puts a young big man in a very visible spot to begin the year.
For a team trying to settle its rotation early, the decision adds an immediate layer of intrigue to opening night. Phoenix will be watching how Maluach handles the assignment, especially with the opener carrying the kind of stage that can accelerate a rookies learning curve in a hurry. The Suns are not alone in dealing with early-season roster questions, but this one gives their first game a particularly sharp edge. [Read more 🡒]