The Phoenix Suns will play game two of their most recent three-game homestead this evening against the Oklahoma City Thunder. As previously referenced in the preview of tonight's game, the Thunder are an upstart squad that is looking to compete now and well into the future.
Oklahoma City is lead by young star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a dynamic guard that has quickly turned into one of the best players in the NBA.
This squad is much more than SGA, however. The roster is nicely filled out by young studs in Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, coupled with a much stronger cast of role players compared to previous years, lead by a revitalized Luguentz Dort.
Attack Dort on Offense
Luguentz Dort has built a strong reputation on the defensive side of the basketball.
While Dort hasn't been recognized on on all-defensive team thus far, everyone knows his utter physicality and relentless point-of-attack efforts make life extremely difficult for the primary creator on the perimeter.
While it is tough to drive and create leverage on Dort, he does have a penchant to foul. Dort has accumulated 4 fouls in three of the Thunder's last five contests.
The Suns need to attempt to bait Dort into foul trouble early, as a player such as Jalen Williams is a fairly good defender, but doesn't bring anywhere near the physicality Dort does.
Forcing Dort into foul trouble would make OKC's already below-average defense as a unit too reliant on Chet Holmgren.
Force Giddey to Make Plays
Josh Giddey has undeniably been one of the biggest disappointments in the early stages of the NBA season. The third-year lottery pick out of Australia was seen as a sleeper candidate for the NBA's most improved player award race prior to the start of the season.
Through eight games, it appears as if Giddey has regressed some.
The guard is second on the Thunder in shot attempts per game at 13.1, but has the worst scoring efficiency of any of the higher-usage Thunder players.
The dip in scoring volume and efficiency has also negatively impacted his ability to make plays for others. Giddey is shooting 22% from three-point range this season, leaving teams to sag off on him. Being both a poor shooter this season and average athlete, Giddey doesn't have many ways to create advantages this season outside of simply making shots that analytics don't favor.
Phoenix should actively encourage Giddey to shoot the ball and utilize any means necessary to win the game for OKC.
Get Beal Opportunities Early
Bradley Beal has had an uneven yet encouraging start to his tenure with Phoenix. The former all-NBA guard has had some flashes of brilliance while also dealing with some obvious rust in contests against the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers.
The Suns need to continue to look to get Beal catch-and shoot three point attempts while also allowing him to create off-the-ball at the same time. Beal is one of the best at creating offense with lower usage compared to other stars, but it needs to be an emphasis to uptick his usage tonight.
Beal will be more comfortable if he begins the game with the ball in his hands.
More must-reads: