There was never much mystery about what Monday night would tell the Suns. A matchup with the Spurs was always going to show Phoenix exactly where it stands, and the answer came in a pretty familiar shape: San Antonio is built differently, and Victor Wembanyama makes the whole operation feel unfair.
The Spurs’ youth gives them one edge, but Wembanyama is the real problem for everyone else. He’s not just a big body hanging around the rim.
He changes possessions before they even happen, swallowing space on defense and warping the game with his presence alone. The source material calls him an alien, a demigod, and an unstoppable force, and that’s the kind of language that fits when a player is controlling both ends of the floor the way he is right now.
Phoenix, to its credit, handled the ball well. The Suns finished with only seven turnovers, which is a clean number in a game that could have gotten away from them even faster.
But the rest of the stat sheet told the harsher truth. San Antonio beat them 62-48 in the paint, 20-10 in second-chance points, and 19-10 in fast-break points.
The Spurs also owned the glass, outrebounding Phoenix 55-35.
That’s the part that matters most for the Suns. They’ve made some progress over the past week, but there’s still a wide gap between them and the top tier in the West.
The Spurs exposed the same issues that have been hanging around all season: Phoenix struggles to control the boards, and it has trouble protecting the paint. Losing to a team with a generational talent is one thing.
Losing in a way that spotlights the same weaknesses again is another.
On the Bright Side Baller front, Ryan Dunn remains the standout from the victory over the Rockets. The note here is simple: it’s not often the winner comes from someone who scored fewer than 10 points, but the community knows ball, and Dunn’s disruptive impact was enough to earn the nod.
For Game 9 against the Spurs, the nominees were Devin Booker, Khaman Maluach, Oso Ighodaro, Miles Bridges, and Jalen Green.
Booker led the way offensively with 32 points on 10-of-17 shooting, including 3-of-5 from deep, while adding two rebounds, four assists, one steal, one block, and no turnovers. Maluach posted 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, hit his lone three, and chipped in five rebounds, two assists, one block, and no turnovers.
Ighodaro finished with seven points, four rebounds, two assists, and one turnover. Bridges also scored seven, added five rebounds and two blocks, and went 3-of-9 from the field.
Green had six points, five rebounds, four assists, and three turnovers.
In Other News...
Victor Wembanyama Just Exposed A Suns Problem Devin Booker Couldn't Fix
Victor Wembanyama turned a routine early-season test into a reminder of just how much trouble his size, skill and timing can create for Phoenix. The Spurs rolled to a 122-96 win as Wembanyama piled up 40 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks in just 25 minutes, and the Suns never found a clean answer for him or for the way San Antonio kept feeding off his presence. The loss snapped Phoenixs two-game winning streak and left the Suns looking like a team that could not quite match the Spurs pace, length and shot-making.
Jordan Ott and Devin Booker both pointed to Wembanyamas impact afterward, but the bigger issue for Phoenix was how thoroughly San Antonios team play amplified the matchup problem. The Suns had stretches where they simply could not get comfortable on either end, and a night that started as another chance to build momentum instead became a blunt reminder of the gap they still have to close against elite frontcourt talent. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama Is Becoming A Serious Problem For The Suns
Victor Wembanyama is already making life miserable for the Suns in a way that goes beyond one ugly night. The Spurs fast start has been driven by his all-around dominance, with Wembanyama putting up eye-popping numbers across the board through the first 10 games and joining Shaquille ONeal as the only players in the last 50 seasons to open a season with that kind of scoring, rebounding and rim protection.
Against Phoenix, he looked every bit like the centerpiece of a team that is starting to believe in itself, going for 40 points, 11 rebounds and 8 blocks in a Spurs win. For the Suns, it was another reminder that even when they find ways to score, Wembanyama can take over the game at both ends, and the challenge of dealing with him is only getting bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Fans Get A Frustrating Jordan Goodwin Reminder Before Tougher Test
Jordan Goodwins absence has become a familiar wrinkle for the Suns over the past week, and it will linger into Monday nights meeting with the Spurs. Head coach Jordan Ott said the guard has been ruled out because of a calf injury, leaving Phoenix to keep adjusting its rotation while another key piece remains unavailable.
Goodwin has already missed a week, but the more immediate concern is how the Suns manage the front end of a back-to-back before a tougher test against the Clippers the next night. Mark Williams is also out following shoulder surgery, so Phoenix is still working around multiple absences as it tries to steady itself through a demanding stretch. [Read more 🡒]