For the Phoenix Suns, the long wait to get their vaunted Big Three to finally come and play together in the regular season finally came to an end, with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal all healthy on Wednesday night as they faced the Brooklyn Nets. The addition of Beal led many pundits to believe that the Suns should be one of the favorites to win the 2024 NBA championship, but it's clear that it's going to take some time for them to round into form after their 116-112 loss to the Nets in their debut as a trio.
Booker and Durant were able to play their parts; the former scored 34 points and tallied 12 dimes, while the latter dropped a cool 27-6-4 line in his return from a one-game absence. However, Beal may be in need of a ramp-up period, as he was a bit uninvolved in the offense, dropping just 14 points on 6-9 shooting from the field in 34 minutes of action.
The Suns will be at their most dangerous when all the members of the Big Three show up; now, it will be up to them to figure out how to bring out the best from the trio moving forward.
“We showed some spurts. Got to give the Nets credit. They played like three or four different defenses tonight trying to throw us off. I think we fought through it and figured some stuff out,” Kevin Durant said in his postgame presser, via Duane Rankin of AZ Central.
"We showed some spurts. Got to give the Nets credit. They played like three or four different defenses tonight trying to throw us off. I think we fought through it and figured some stuff out."
Kevin Durant on first game with Big 3 starting that ended in #Suns loss to #Nets. pic.twitter.com/Ed5cZiXP6S
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) December 14, 2023
Getting three players who can score at will was the blueprint for the Suns to put up an offense that can counter whatever coverage the opposition uses. Of course, the Suns will need their role players to produce as well so defenses won't be able to crowd the airspace of the stars quite easily.
Given the talent they have at their disposal, the Suns should be able to figure it out sooner than later, even if Kevin Durant doesn't exactly know when that time will come.
“Basketball is unpredictable. Who knows?” Durant answered when asked how long it would take for the Big Three to develop chemistry.
"Basketball is unpredictable. Who knows."
Kevin Durant when asked how many games will it take to develop chemistry after Big 3 makes regular season debut in Wednesday's loss to #Nets. #Suns pic.twitter.com/pNZNYaJnQg
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) December 14, 2023
The Suns will look to continue building some synergy among its top guys when they take on the New York Knicks on Friday night.
Follow Us
Subscribe