OMS: Phoenix Suns (15-16) contre Memphis Grizzlies (22-11)
When: 7:00 p.m. Arizona time
Or: Footprint Center — Phoenix, Arizona
Watch: AZFamily, Suns en direct
Listen: KMVP 98.7
Just a warning: joy is rare here. I think I'm entering my Reputation era…
The year 2024 is coming to an end and personally, I'm grateful that we can put this one to bed. This has been tough for Suns fans. We lost Dave King, Walter Davis, Al McCoy and Dick Van Arsdale last year. Emotions ran high as we looked to the team to help heal the wounds. But they didn't. A playoff sweep. A season below .500 in 31 games. A franchise with little hope and even less desirable assets. Yeah, us.
The Phoenix Suns have been decidedly average as they head into their final game of the season. In the 2024 calendar year, they have played 54 games, posting a .593 winning percentage, which is the 22nd best calendar year in franchise history. As a reminder, their best year came in 2007, when they dominated with a 68-27 record and a .716 winning percentage. Despite boasting the highest payroll in NBA history, this Suns team has achieved results that can only be described as “average.”
So here we are, hoping the team can turn a corner, excited about each victory because we believe it could finally be it. But that's not the case. Christmas was a mirage. New Year? I guess there's another reminder. It's a game we've played throughout 2024, a game where we think they've figured something out but they don't. And it was exhausting.
To end the year, the Suns host the 22-11 Memphis Grizzlies, a team many forgot about as Ja Morant dealt with legal issues and injuries a season ago. They finished 13th last season after being the second-best team in the Western Conference in 2022-23. And you wouldn't know it? That's exactly where they are again. Second place.
How did the Grizzlies climb back to claim the second seed and win at a .667 clip? Simple. They embody everything the Suns lack (and everything we want them to embody): leadership, hustle, chemistry, and a clear identity. On top of that, from a broader perspective, they have managed to stay under the second tax apron while retaining valuable project capital.
Sigh…
Probable entries
Injury report
Suns
- Grayson Allen — PROBABLE (Concussion Protocol)
- Bol Bol — QUESTIONABLE (left knee contusion)
- Devin Booker — QUESTIONABLE (Left Groin Pain)
- Jusuf Nurkic — OUT (Assault to the limit)
- Collin Gillespie — OUT (fractured right ankle)
Grizzlis
- Ja Morant — OUT (right AC joint sprain)
- Marcus Smart – OUT (right index finger; partial tear of extensor cover)
- Santi Aldama — OUT (sprained left ankle)
- Brandon Clarke — OUT (right Soleus strain)
- GG Jackson — OUT (Right Fifth Metatarsal Repair)
- Jake LaRavia — OUT (sprained right ankle)
- Vince Williams, Jr. — OUT (sprained right ankle)
Match uniforme
What to watch out for
Pace
And I'm not talking about picante sauce, listen.
The Grizzlies? They live to run, sprinting to the top of the league, and because they never stop, they make the second most shots per game. This incessant pressure? This not only tests your endurance, it earns them the third most free throw attempts in the NBA. And now they're licking their lips against a Suns defense that's bleeding 49 points in the paint per game, ranking a pitiful 20th in the league. Without Jusuf Nurkic to anchor the middle, it's open season in the corridor.
But hey, it doesn't matter, right? The Suns are moving up to 25th in the league, which is great…until they decide to press on. Then it's comedy time, as the ball inevitably ends up in the hands of the opposition. And wouldn't you know it, this particular opponent is 8th in steals and 4th in fast break points. Translation? It's going to be a long, chaotic night watching Memphis fight their way through Phoenix's paper-thin defense.
Injuries
Ah, the injury report. A story as old as time this season. Both teams are battered, bruised and missing key players. Devin Booker could make a return, but let's be real: With the Suns out until Saturday, are they really going to take the risk? Doubtful. The Grizzlies, meanwhile, are operating without a long roster of talent, headlined by absentee Ja Morant.
So here we are again. Another hobbled team stumbles into the Footprint Center, ready for selection. The Suns will feature two of their Big Three. That should seal the deal, right? Fake. Not when this team has a knack for turning confidence into complacency and managing to fumble even the basics. Because nothing proves “we are contenders” like finding new ways to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
The key to a Suns victory
Oh, you know. Hit their threes. Play with hustle on the defensive end. Don't turn the ball over.
Prediction
The Suns will do two of the three things above because that's what they always do. But they won't do the third thing, and they won't do it so badly that it costs them the game.
Grizzlies 116, Suns 109
