Kennard said Monday that head coach Jordan Ott has encouraged him to significantly increase his three-point volume this season, Shane Young of the Suns' official site reports.
Green said Monday that improving his playmaking and pace were major focuses during the offseason, with the guard working with Hall of Famer Steve Nash to develop those areas of his game, according to Suns reporter Ethan Kinney.
Maluach earned significant praise from Devin Booker on Monday for the progress he's made during the offseason, Shane Young of the Suns' official site reports.
Booker is feeling the healthiest in his career this year, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.
Thunder general manager Sam Presti said Thursday that Williams "looks fantastic" following a full offseason to recover from the injuries that plagued him in 2025-26, Clemente Almanza of USA Today reports.
Gilgeous-Alexander could play off the ball more this season, per Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo Sports.
Thunder general manager Sam Presti said the organization thinks "very highly" of Wallace and indicated that trading Luguentz Dort was partly a reflection of the team's belief in the 22-year-old guard, according to Rylan Stiles of SI.com.
Thunder general manager Sam Presti praised McCain's all-around game, describing the guard as a "winning player," Brandon Rahbar of DailyThunder.com reports.
Thunder general manager Sam Presti has mentioned Mitchell (calf) multiple times as a player who could take on more minutes and make a jump this season, according to Brandon Rahbar of Daily Thunder.
Sorber will be limited to begin training camp, Clemente Almanza of USA Today reports.
FanDuel. Jalen Williams averaged 10.8 rebounds plus assists per 30 minutes in the full games he played with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander this season. With the Thunder fully healthy, Williams functions as the de facto point guard in the non-SGA iso possions. And his 4.5 rebound line is low, especially given the Thunder trotting out less two-big lineups.
With Mark Williams ruled out again, it will be up to Oso Ighodaro to battle the Thunder bigs. He went scoreless in Game 1, but he hustled his way to nine rebounds -- seven on the offensive glass. He also dished out three assists. Phoenix will emphasize ball movement in Game 2 after producing just 16 assists (against 17 turnovers) in Game 1. Look for Ighodaro to hit double digits on this combo prop.
The Suns were humiliated by 35 points in a Game 1 loss to the Thunder. Devin Booker was a quasi-bright spot, scoring 23 points. He scored 21 and 24 points in two regular-season meetings as OKC held him to among his lowest shooting totals of the year. The Suns need Booker to be selfish: In the playoffs, since 2023, the Suns are 6-1 when Booker scores at least 30, and 0-9 when he doesn’t. He should shoot 25+ times.
The Phoenix Suns are likely in for a quick series against OKC, as the spread has jumped to 17.5 for tonight. The big concern for Phoenix is their lack of size, as Mark Williams remains questionable with a foot issue. Either way I expect rookie Oso Ighodaro to have minutes similar to game one’s twenty six. He was scoreless but a lot of that had to do with the Suns having to try and shoot themselves back in the game being down by double digits. Ighodaro bounces back, but play this before Williams is ruled out as the extra point in the market will be a no play for me.
Where do the Suns go from here after losing Game 1 badly to the Thunder, 119-84? I think the first thing the Suns need to do is pick up the pace because the defense they want to play in a low-scoring game is not stopping the Thunder at all. The Suns shot only 35% in Game 1 and had 17 turnovers. The Thunder just played their regular game and put up 119 points on only 30% 3-point shooting. They shot 45%, which is less than their season average (48.3). I'm going with the Suns to force tempo and get this game over with a better performance from their 3 leaders.
All of the attention usually goes to last year's MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and while he deserves it, the Suns should also worry about Jalen Williams. The Thunder swingman had 22 points and 6 assists in just 29 minutes in Game 1 and has averaged 26 P+A in five games vs. the Suns this season. When playing 30+ minutes, he is 11-3 to this prop in 2025-26 and went over this line in 18 of 24 postseason games last year.
