What Suns Can Do to Bounce Back vs Thunder

The Phoenix Suns are looking to avoid a losing streak tomorrow night.

November 13, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) shoots the basketball against Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (13) during the third quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns (9-3) are looking to bounce back from a 127-104 loss to the hands of the Sacramento Kings Friday night against the first-place squad in the West - the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder have opened as a significant favorite to steal the game in what is set to be another group stage duel in the NBA's Emirates Cup - but there are very specific points of emphasis that coach Mike Budenholzer can push that could secure the victory for the Suns.

Three things the Suns can do to reach 10 victories on the season:

Exploit Thunder's Lack of Size

Oklahoma City will be without Isaiah Hartenstein, Chet Holmgren, and Jaylin Williams for this contest.

The starting lineup that head coach Mark Daigneault has rolled out since Holmgren's injury of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Isaiah Joe, Luguentz Dort, Jalen Williams, and Cason Wallace is severely undersized. This could be something Phoenix can exploit.

The big-man trio of Jusuf Nurkic, Mason Plumlee, and Oso Ighodaro could be advantageous from a physicality perspective, but Ryan Dunn will have to be a focal point as well to prevent the Thunder from exploiting the more slow-footed duo of Nurkic/Plumlee.

Perhaps a Bol appearance will be in play as well - as the Thunder's genuinely small-ball arrangement can be taken advantage of under the right conditions.

Stick to Offensive Script

The Suns need to put more of an emphasis on in-out actions tomorrow night, but that doesn't mean they should abandon what has gone right en route to the 9-3 start.

Phoenix ranks 4th in the entire NBA in 3-point volume at 41.2 attempts per night - just around 2 attempts more than OKC typically gets up.

The Thunder could be all the more dependent on the outside aspect of the game, and the Suns need to make it a point of contention to at least match the Thunder in volume - as they have as many game-changing shooters as Phoenix does.

If the Suns strike the perfect balance between the inside-outside philosphy, they could very easily find themselves in the win column once again.

Emphasize Containing Jalen Williams

The third-year star forward has truly taken off since Holmgren went down with a fractured hip on Sunday - having averaged 26.3 PPG while also stuffing the stat sheet elsewhere.

Williams is near the top of the league in steals per game, is shooting over 50% from three-point range this month on nearly five attempts per contest, and has been a game-wrecker athletically.

The Suns have to make it of utmost importance to contain Williams, who is seemingly turning into the ideal co-star alongside Gilgeous-Alexander right before our eyes. It wouldn't be shocking at all if Williams was a first-time all-star this season - and that makes it all the more vital to contain the explosive wing talent.

Ryan Dunn could be given the assignment - and that could end up working in the Suns' favor, as Dunn is the same caliber of athlete while already having a track record of holding his own against other established stars in his young career.

It will be quite interesting to see how this contest transpires - but Phoenix would likely find more solace if the game was lost at the hands of Dort rather than Williams.

Suns-Thunder is set to tip off Friday evening just past 6:00 PM Phoenix time.