The Phoenix Suns haven't had the smoothest start to the 2022-23 season, but they have a chance to make a big statement on Christmas when they take on the Western Conference leading Denver Nuggets. With the game right around the corner, we decided it would be a good time to reveal our Suns Christmas Day predictions for this big contest.
The Suns are dealing with drama on the court, mainly revolving around center Deandre Ayton, and off the court, with the findings of the Robert Sarver investigation forcing him to sell the franchise. Still, Phoenix is in fourth place in the West right now, but they have already racked up 14 losses this season after losing just 18 games last season.
Phoenix will find themselves with a tough matchup on Christmas against Denver, who have quietly emerged as the leader in the West, although it's worth noting that six teams in the conference have at least 19 wins so far. This should be a very entertaining game, and with Christmas right around the corner, let's jump into our Suns predictions and see what could happen in this game.
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3. Suns PG Chris Paul will record a 20-point, 10 assist double-double
The start of the 2022-23 season hasn't been particularly kind to Chris Paul. He's already had to miss 14 games, and even when he's been on the court, his productivity has waned. Paul's numbers aren't bad (12 PPG, 8.7 APG, 4.6 RPG, 40.2 FG%) but this is easily the worst we have seen him play throughout his legendary career.
Paul has had some big games when he's been on the court this season, but he's struggled to truly assert himself in the offense and get his shots up on a nightly basis. Some nights he shows flashes of his old self, but he has four games this month where he hasn't shot above 33.3 percent from the floor, which isn't exactly a good sign.
Against the Nuggets on Christmas, though, Paul will give Suns fans hope that he can turn back the clock throughout the remainder of the season and help Phoenix go on a Finals run. Paul has continued to rack up assists this season, so he will easily surpass ten assists in this game, but he has an efficient outing from the floor as well to give him a 20-point, 10-assist double-double, which is a feat he has yet to accomplish this season.
2. Suns SG Devin Booker will score 40 points
While Paul has struggled early on this season, Devin Booker has taken his game to a new level to help the Suns stay afloat in the early going. Booker is averaging 28 points per game, the most in his career, while also taking on a bigger playmaking role when Paul is on the sidelines. As a result, Booker's name has occasionaly popped up in the MVP conversation.
Booker may not have much of a shot to win the MVP award this season, but he's easily been the main force keeping the Suns alive right now. Against a tough Nuggets team, Booker is going to have to step up again if Phoenix wants to pick up a big victory over one of their top competitors on Christmas Day.
Booker will answer the call, pouring in 40 points to continue his recent scoring tear for the Suns. With the Nuggets looking to cool off Booker, he turns in one of his best outings of the year to keep Phoenix in this game. Unfortunately, it won't be enough to lead them to a victory over Denver here.
1. The Suns will lose to the Nuggets by a score of 134-128
On a day where a couple of the Christmas matchups have been made significantly less interesting due to injuries to key players, the Suns matchup with the Nuggets looks to be one of the most interesting on the day. And it will live up to its billing as this game will be tightly contested throughout.
The Suns will actually control the first-half, with Booker scoring 19 of his 40 points in the half, and Paul getting 13 of his 20. But the Nuggets will take control of this game in the second half through Nikola Jokic, who will end up posting a triple-double when all is said and done in this game.
The game will remain close throughout the fourth quarter, but Paul will have cooled off by now, and Booker won't be able to win a duel with Jokic here. Jokic will help the Nuggets pull away, and the final result is a crushing 134-128 loss for the Suns that shows that they have some work to do if they want to remain one of the top teams in the West this season.
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