Phoenix Suns

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Jules Tompkins

Babby: Hornacek will be a terrific Suns’ head coach ‘for a long, long time’

A dismal 25-57 season in 2012-13 made more than just one thing apparent to Phoenix Suns president of basketball operations. Not only did the team need a new coach, after Alvin Gentry (13-28) and Lindsey Hunter (12-29) split halves of the season — faring almost equally as poorly, but they also lacked a connection to […]
10 years ago
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Adam Green

Phoenix Suns coach: Miles Plumlee improves every day

Of the many surprises on the Phoenix Suns this season, one clearly stands above the rest. And it’s not just because he’s the tallest. Miles Plumlee, who was acquired from Indiana in the trade that saw the Suns part with Luis Scola, is averaging 9.7 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in just more than […]
10 years ago
Arizona Sports

Holiday Wish List for the Valley Teams

The holiday season is a time to celebrate family, love, community and the year that was. But let’s be honest, it’s also a time to receive gifts. And in that spirit, we at ArizonaSports.com have come up with a wish list of things that the four Valley teams — Arizona Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks, Phoenix Coyotes […]
10 years ago
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Craig Grialou

Suns Strokes: Phoenix rolls Lakers in biggest win of season

Two days before Christmas, Suns fans received the best gift of all: A win over the Lakers. But it was not just any win. No, it was the biggest win of the season in terms of margin of victory, 27 points. The final, 117-90 in front of 14,814 at US Airways Center. Five players scored […]
10 years ago
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Craig Grialou

Kendall Marshall: No hard feelings towards Phoenix Suns

PHOENIX, Ariz. – No Kobe Bryant. No Steve Nash. That’s okay. Phoenix Suns fans can cheer, or boo, Kendall Marshall. The former lottery pick, whom the Suns selected 13th overall in the 2012 NBA Draft, made his return to US Airways Center Monday, as a member of the L.A. Lakers. Marshall signed with the Lakers […]
10 years ago
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Jules Tompkins

Phoenix Suns called NBA’s top overachiever

At 16-10 through the first two months of the NBA, the Phoenix Suns have surprised everyone. Having played less than a third of their games, the Suns are just three games away from meeting the expectation of the majority of the Arizona Sports panel, who anticipated 20 wins for the team in 2013-14, and just […]
10 years ago
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Dave Dulberg

Suns Strokes: Youthful Phoenix downs veteran-laden Dallas behind offensive outburst

PHOENIX — “They’re a team that’s a lot similar to us.” Phoenix Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek uttered those nine words in his pre-game press conference, and he couldn’t have been more right. Heading into their Western Conference contest, the Suns and Dallas Mavericks had very similar records — 15-10 and 15-11 respectively — and […]
10 years ago
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Dave Dulberg

Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek: Eric Bledsoe working through the challenges of being a full-time starter

As seamless as he’s made the transition look at times this season, Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe is still navigating his ways through unfamiliar waters. In particular, the grind of playing big minutes night in and night out as a starter. During his first three seasons in the league as a member of the Los […]
10 years ago
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Andrew Gilstrap

Suns Strokes: Bench leads Phoenix to spirited comeback win in Denver

The Phoenix Suns fell to their largest deficit of the season in the first half against the Denver Nuggets, but the team’s bench came to rescue as Phoenix fought back to earn a 103-99 victory Friday night at the Pepsi Center in Denver. The Suns’ offense sputtered in the first quarter, as they fell behind […]
10 years ago
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Craig Grialou

Suns coach Jeff Hornacek: ‘These guys expect to win games’

PHOENIX — The secret is out. The Phoenix Suns are no longer a surprise. Already with nearly as many wins (14) as they were forecast to have for the entire season (the so-called experts placed the over/under anywhere between 18 and 21), the Suns have become the story in the NBA. Everyone is taking notice, […]
10 years ago
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Dave Dulberg

Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby: ‘We already feel validated in terms of our performance’

The narrative as it pertains to the 2013-14 Phoenix Suns has changed in a matter of months. Once thought to be one of the bottom-feeder teams competing for the services of top college prospects like Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker and Julius Randle, a little more than a quarter of the way through the season, the […]
10 years ago
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Craig Grialou

Suns Strokes: Ginobili takes over, as San Antonio ends Phoenix’s five-game win streak

PHOENIX — He may be older, but Manu Ginobili can still take over a game, especially against the Phoenix Suns. The 36-year-old veteran scored 11 points in a 15-4 fourth-quarter run by the San Antonio Spurs to end the Suns’ season-best five-game winning streak, 108-101. Ginobili, off the bench, scored a game-high 24 points to […]
10 years ago
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Craig Grialou

Phoenix Suns ‘can’t relax’ against shorthanded San Antonio Spurs

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Catching an NBA team without its superstar does not equate to catching a break. Just ask the Phoenix Suns. Earlier this season, the Suns visited a Memphis team minus big men Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. No problem, right? Correct. For Memphis. The Grizzlies, behind Jon Leuer’s career-high 23 points and double-doubles […]
10 years ago
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Craig Grialou

Phoenix Suns’ Goran Dragic ‘just having fun’

PHOENIX, Ariz. — Winning helps. So too does having playmakers. The first of those qualities was infrequent, while the second was lacking last season. This season, the Phoenix Suns (14-9) do not have a problem with either, at least early on. Goran Dragic is one of the few holdovers from a year ago. The sixth-year […]
10 years ago
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Andrew Gilstrap

Phoenix Suns GM McDonough says Plumlee, Frye made Marcin Gortat expendable

When the Phoenix Suns shipped starting center Marcin Gortat to the Washington Wizards right before the season began, most fans and NBA experts assumed it was the team waving a white flag and positioning itself for a high pick in the 2014 draft. However, Suns general manager Ryan McDonough had a trick up his sleeve […]
10 years ago
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Andrew Gilstrap

Grantland writer: Phoenix Suns are ‘the best story in the league’

Perhaps you’ve heard: The Phoenix Suns are on a five-game winning streak and are currently tied for the sixth spot in the Western Conference playoff race with a 14-9 record. The competitive Suns have surprised just about everyone at this point in the season, and local sports personalities can sing their praises until they’re blue […]
10 years ago
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Adam Green

Phoenix Suns coach: Surprising start attributed to talent, effort and teamwork

You didn’t have to look very hard to find a prediction that said the Phoenix Suns were going to struggle this season. After winning 25 games the season before, the team was expected to be as bad — and possibly worse — as it began a new era with Ryan McDonough as general manager and […]
10 years ago
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Tyler Bassett

Suns Strokes: Suns hold off Warriors behind stellar shooting, defense in final moments

The Suns rattled off their season high fifth straight victory after disposing the Golden State Warriors 106-102 Sunday night.
10 years ago
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Craig Grialou

Suns Strokes: Phoenix extends win streak behind big nights from backcourt and Plumlee

Eric Bledsoe scored a career-high. Goran Dragic flirted with a career-high. But it was Miles Plumlee who stole the show, helping the Suns win their season-high fourth straight, beating the Sacramento Kings 116-107 in front of 14,128 at US Airways Center. Plumlee sparked a 14-0 third quarter run, racing back on defense to block a […]
10 years ago
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Arizona Sports

Suns GM: Preference would be to package picks to acquire star

Before the 2013-14 season began, the date everyone had highlighted as the most important for the Phoenix Suns was June 26. The 2014 NBA Draft. After spending the offseason shipping out veteran pieces — Caron Butler, Jared Dudley, Luis Scola, Marcin Gortat, Shannon Brown — for cap flexibility and draft assets, the perception was that […]
10 years ago
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Craig Grialou

Phoenix Suns’ Alex Len staying positive despite frustrating start to career

PHOENIX — This is not how Alex Len anticipated spending his rookie season. Rather than practicing and playing, the Phoenix Suns big man is sitting and watching. Len, the team’s first round pick — drafted fifth overall — missed his 11th straight game Friday because of continuing soreness in his left ankle. The good news, […]
10 years ago
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Craig Grialou

Phoenix Suns believe they ‘owe’ the Sacramento Kings

PHOENIX — Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. The Phoenix Suns have been fooled twice by the Sacramento Kings, accounting for a third of their win total. “We owe them,” forward Marcus Morris said. “We got to get them,” guard Eric Bledsoe added. A fourth quarter collapse cost the […]
10 years ago
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Jules Tompkins

Morris twins ‘better together’ for Phoenix Suns

When the Phoenix Suns traded for Marcus Morris in February of last season, many questioned the player’s fit on the roster, given his twin brother’s presence in the Valley. Did the Suns really need identical players on the team together? And at first, it looked as if the whole thing was a mistake. Marcus and […]
10 years ago
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Arizona Sports

Suns GM McDonough not surprised by Phoenix’s strong start

The Phoenix Suns’ success this season is a surprise to plenty of people. But don’t put Suns’ GM Ryan McDonough in that group. “I’m not surprised, but I’m happy with how quick the group has come together,” McDonough told Arizona Sports 620’s Burns & Gambo Wednesday. “Getting guys to buy into their roles, balance their […]
10 years ago
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Andrew Gilstrap

Phoenix Suns’ Eric Bledsoe makes ESPN’s list of top NBA players under 25

Through the early part of the season, Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe is looking like he’ll pan out to be the star the franchise expected him to be. Basketball experts are taking notice, and Bledsoe has earned a spot in ESPN.com’s “2013-14 NBA Under-25 rankings,” an Insider piece released Wednesday. The sports empire ranked the […]
10 years ago
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Dave Dulberg

Suns Strokes: Offensive outburst hands Phoenix first road win vs. Lakers since 2010

The last time the Phoenix Suns won on the road against the Los Angeles Lakers back on Nov. 14, 2010, Goran Dragic was a role player, Eric Bledsoe was a Clipper and the Morris Twins were still Jayhawks at the collegiate level. Flash forward to Tuesday night, and the quartet was largely responsible for erasing […]
10 years ago
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Craig Grialou

Film study aiding defensive effort of Phoenix Suns’ P.J. Tucker

PHOENIX, Ariz. — Since Phoenix Suns forward P.J. Tucker held James Harden to 14 points last week, more than 10 points below his season average, the Houston Rockets star (and former ASU Sun Devil) has scored 34 and 27 points. Since Tucker contained Rudy Gay to 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting, the Toronto Raptors star […]
10 years ago
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Craig Grialou

Phoenix Suns enjoy brief break, ready to resume playing

PHOENIX — After a stretch of eight games in 12 days followed by three games in a four-day period, Phoenix Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek decided his team needed a break. They would not practice Saturday or Sunday, giving players a rare weekend off from basketball. “I don’t know when was the last time we […]
10 years ago
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Arizona Sports

Suns Strokes: Suns scrape by in win vs. Raptors

It wasn’t pretty on the eyes, but it counts in the win column as the Phoenix Suns pulled out a 106-97 win against the Raptors at the US Airways Center. Phoenix used a 13-5 run to start the fourth quarter, which gave them a 15-point lead and they were able to hold on down the […]
10 years ago
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Jules Tompkins

Suns’ Babby: With intensity, team ‘can play with anybody’

The Phoenix Suns’ surprising season doesn’t seem to be slowing down, if Wednesday night’s 97-88 win over the Houston Rockets can serve as any kind of evidence. At 10-9, the Suns are just outside of playoff contention and surprising most. They’re 8-7 against the deep Western Conference, 5-6 on the road and, according to Lon […]
10 years ago