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The Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors are two teams expected to sit at the top of the Western Conference standings come time for the end of the 2023-24 season in April. On Tuesday night, we got a small glimpse into the championship potential these two teams possess, as the Suns visited the Warriors on opening night in the NBA.
While both teams were short-handed, as the Suns were without All-Star Bradley Beal and the Warriors were without four-time champion Draymond Green, this matchup featured the return of Kevin Durant in front of Golden State's home faithful. It also had Chris Paul facing off against his former squad in the first game of the new season.
Even though there were some great storylines tying these two teams together, this game seemed like the equivalent of what a spring training game is in the MLB. The energy in this game was low and both sides nonchalantly wandered their way to the finish line.
Championship-contending teams learn a lot about themselves over the course of a season and this is going to be the case for the Suns and Warriors. In Phoenix, they have a completely new roster who have never played with one another before outside of Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. Frank Vogel is also coaching this team for the first time, which is why they will be working through a lot of things over the course of the first several weeks of the season.
For the Warriors, their championship core of Green, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Kevon Looney remains, but Paul's addition brings a new, unique style of play to the table. Searching for productivity from their bench unit, Golden State also has a lot to figure out as well.
The Suns ended up claiming their first victory of the season, defeating the Warriors 108-104 on the road. Despite losing this game, the Warriors definitely have to be happy with their performance, especially seeing as they only shot 35.6 percent from the floor and 23.3 percent from three-point range. Perhaps the biggest thing that stands out for Golden State is that they only turned the ball over 11 times after being the most turnover-prone team in the league a season ago.
A long journey now awaits the Suns and Warriors, as they will each be much different teams the next time they face off against one another. Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Suns' victory over the Warriors, including Devin Booker's dominance and his potential path to winning the MVP award.
Devin Booker is a true MVP candidate
Overall, this first game between the Suns and Warriors was pretty messy. Phoenix turned the ball over 19 times, the Warriors could not buy a basket, and both teams took their time instead of trying to push the pace of play. The Suns did come away with the victory and this was in large part thanks to Devin Booker.
It is hard to believe that Booker is now in his ninth NBA season with the Suns, as he is about to turn 27 years old and continuing to get better. Through the years, Book has turned himself into a superstar talent and was the main reason why Phoenix found themselves in the 2021 NBA Finals. Now on a team next to the likes of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, the Suns guard is once again the focal point and leader of his team.
While Tuesday night was by no means Booker's best performance, he sent a statement to the rest of the league by recording 32 points, eight assists, and six rebounds in 37 total minutes. All offseason long, the questions surrounding the Suns have revolved around the idea that they do not have a point guard on their roster. This could obviously be problematic as the season progresses, as every team needs a reliable ball-handler and playmaker to lean on in big moments.
For Phoenix, Booker can fill this role. He proved so in this game against the Warriors that he is more than comfortable being the leader in every aspect of the game. He can score, he can move the basketball, he can rebound, and Booker can set the tone for his team.
This is why Booker is a true MVP candidate this season.
The Suns have set high title aspirations for themselves after what they did this past offseason. Booker understands that his team needs him to step into a different role next to Durant and Beal, which is why this organization has turned to him to be their leader. Head coach Frank Vogel also understands this, ushering confidence in Booker's abilities after his performance.
“It’s a good start to a new phase of his career, where he’s going to be the primary ballhandler,” Vogel stated after the game, via The Athletic's Doug Haller. “He’s really embraced taking the leadership role on this team, playing a more traditional point guard where he’s a threat to go into kill mode at any point. And he has the savvy of reading defenses and picking them apart with the pass, which was the beauty of this game.”
In order for the Suns to reach their full potential and possibly win the Western Conference, they will need Booker to continue playing like a real MVP. He's certainly capable of doing so and with all the attention Durant and Beal will draw on the floor offensively, this may very well be Booker's best season in the NBA.
Josh Okogie is more important to Phoenix than many realize
Not many faces from last year's team remain in the Suns' locker room, but Josh Okogie is one of the players who returned for the 2023-24 season. Once a first-round pick in the draft, Okogie found a home in Phoenix last year as a 3-and-D weapon out on the wing. A utility player who can bridge gaps between the stars of the team, Okogie quietly had the best game out of any player on the court in this game on Tuesday night.
The 25-year-old swingman started at the small forward position for the Suns and in 32 total minutes, he accumulated 17 points on 7-9 shooting, 1-1 from three-point range. In fact, the lone three-point shot Okogie made was perhaps the biggest basket of the entire game, as he put the Suns up four points with 1:09 left in the fourth quarter.
JOSH OKOGIE WITH A BIG TIME CORNER TRIPLE 🎯
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 25, 2023
Okogie is the epitome of what it means to be a role player in the NBA. Coming in every single day and doing his job, the Suns know that they can now rely on him to be a factor in their starting lineup.
From guarding Curry to grabbing four offensive rebounds to disrupting passing lanes off-the-ball, Okogie was all over the place in this game. Much like how Torrey Craig filled various roles in Phoenix, Okogie figures to hold a similar role for this team over the course of the 2023-24 season.
Every contending team in the league needs guys who are willing to do the dirty work on the court. This pertains to defending star players and being the one to dive on the ground for 50-50 balls. Okogie does this each and every game, hence why Vogel and this coaching staff trust him.
He's by no means an All-Star talent like Durant, Booker, and Beal, but Okogie currently holds, and will continue to hold, a large role for the Suns.
Chris Paul immediately increased the Warriors' offensive production
The Warriors had a lot of opportunities late in this game to pull away from the Suns and start the 2023-24 season with a 1-0 record. Ultimately, that did not happen and they are instead facing a schedule that sees seven of their next eight games on the road.
Losing this game is not what the Warriors intended on entering Tuesday night, but there is a lot of good that came out of this game for them, including Chris Paul's debut.
Paul is a seasoned veteran and will be in the Hall of Fame one day. Nobody has ever questioned his playmaking abilities as a point guard despite being undersized simply because he stabilizes things for his team. Just last season when he was with the Suns, Paul was able to help lead their offense because of his passing and facilitating duties.
Alongside Curry and Thompson in his Warriors' debut, Paul looked slightly uncomfortable at first. Always used to having the ball in his hands, the 38-year-old had to make adjustments as the game went on to figure out his role off the ball. As this game progressed, Paul began to get a grasp on Golden State's offense and he ended up finishing the game with nine total assists, coming up one short of a double-double.
A 14-point, nine-assist, two-steal night is obviously a solid performance for the veteran in his first game with the Warriors. However, the key takeaway from Paul's debut is the fact that he had one turnover and really helped unlock this team's offensive potential.
Last season, the Warriors led the league with 16.3 turnovers per game, a category you do not want to be leading in. This resulted in their poor road record and ultimately led to their demise in the postseason. Finding ways to cut back on their turnovers and calm things down on the court was a point of emphasis for this organization, which is one of the reasons why they got Paul.
The Warriors finished this game against Phoenix with 11 total turnovers and they only had three total turnovers at halftime. Even with their very poor shooting performance, Golden State was able to keep themselves in this game and almost come away with a win because they took care of the basketball.
The shots will fall as the season progresses for the Warriors and when they do, Golden State will begin cruising to double-digit victories as long as they played how they did against the Suns. Paul's first game in a Warriors uniform was definitely a success, especially since their offense looked more poised and calmer than it did a season ago.
