What We Learned: Suns' Jusuf Nurkic Struggles Again

The Phoenix Suns lost to the Los Angeles Lakers - here's what we learned.

Oct 25, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) looks to pass against Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal (3) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns dropped to 1-1 last night following a 123-116 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in a game that was controlled by Phoenix for much of the first half.

The Lakers' second half surge to secure the victory was spearheaded by the efforts Austin Reaves and Anthony Davis - while the blistering start to the game from behind the arc for Phoenix came crashing back to earth over the final 24 minutes.

Three takeaways going into tonight's game:

Durant Impresses

This one is fairly simple.

Kevin Durant carried the finish to Wednesday night's victory into the Lakers game - exhibiting strong play on both sides of the floor once again.

Durant managed to score 30 points on 17 shots while also dishing out 6 assists in a sizable 39 minutes of action.

There were many reasons why the Suns fell. Durant wasn't one of them.

He looks every bit as good as last season and during the Paris Olympics run over the summer - expect an all-NBA player over the course of the season.

Suns' Bench Did Job

The Suns' bench - save for Oso Ighodaro - posted significantly positive plus/minus numbers while on the floor.

Monte Morris continues to be a revolution as a backup point - knocking down two three-point looks, collecting two steals, and again failing to commit a turnover.

Ryan Dunn posted a +8 in 14 minutes of action while knocking down 3-of-5 looks from behind the arc and playing fearless defense in the eye of JJ Redick's new system.

Mason Plumlee and Royce O'Neale did what was called of them as well - with both actually posting a team-best +14 in their respective time on the floor.

The most puzzling piece to the equation is that Bol Bol has yet to play this season after it seemed as if a bigger role would be in store under Mike Budenholzer. That has yet to come to fruition, but it certainly can change in the future.

Other than that, it already feels safe to make the conclusion that this rendition of the Suns' bench is far better than last season's.

Nurkic Struggles Again

One of the most pressing storylines of the early season is the wildly uneven play of starting C Jusuf Nurkic.

The Suns might have a Nurk problempic.twitter.com/rpOHEZfP0K

— Suns Are Better (@SunsAreBetter) October 26, 2024

Nurkic missed all but one preseason game due to a finger injury - but came into the season with high hopes nonetheless under the premise of a reworked jump shot and a slimmed-down frame.

Many of the issues that have plagued the "Bosnian Beast" in previous years are back around this time - with one more that could be more concerning than the rest.

Nurkic has struggled from three-point range thus far - posting just a 1-7 mark in the two games played. He hasn't been a floor spacer.

He has also struggled on the defensive side of the ball, even being limited to just 18 minutes due to the discrepancy in athleticism compared to Anthony Davis.

Nurkic also has had some bouts of questionable decision making/trying to force the issue as a passer and ball handler alike.

Lastly, his dominant rebounding has yet to show up in the early stages of the 2024-25 season. This game wasn't nearly as shaky as the Clippers' one was from that aspect, but the Suns were still out-rebounded nonetheless.

This isn't to completely slander Nurkic - as he still presents clear value to this team and will be better in future games - but the slow start after such a promising off-season is a bit disheartening.

The Suns are set to open up the home slate this season against the Dallas Mavericks tonight before hosting the Lakers on Monday.