Game Preview: Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets face off on Bright Side Night!

What: The Phoenix Suns vs the Denver Nuggets

Where: Talking Stick Resort Arena: Phoenix, AZ

When: 7:00 PM Arizona Time / 9:00 PM Eastern

Watch: Fox Sports AZ (Locally) / League Pass

Listen: 98.7 FM

Bright Side Night

It's here! It's finally here!

You guys have donated 700 tickets (more, when counting re-donations of lower-bowl tickets) to kids to attend tonight's game against the Nuggets!

Several organizations have been distributed these tickets, which will be located in the upper deck of the arena across 2-3 sections. These organizations include the Boys & Girls Club, Kyrene School District, Sunshine Residential, UMOM, Friendly House, OCJ Kids and Playworks.

The Suns are printing 100 custom shirts to give away to the kids and fans, to be thrown out by the Gorilla and the dancers across the kids' sections, and will give a shout-out during the game to Bright Side of the Sun for such a great cause.

More than a dozen of you will attend a private Q and A with Suns GM Ryan McDonough before the game tonight before taking your lower-bowl seats to watch (hopefully) a big Suns win. Get your questions ready! We don't want 15 minutes of awkward silence now, do we?

Many other big donators will be at the game as well. Our own part-time videographer Evan Wendt be there to document the whole thing. I can't wait for this to go down!

Hit me up via email if you have any questions, about anything at all.

There's a game too

Oh yeah, there's a Suns game going on as well.

The Suns will host the surprising Denver Nuggets, already 5-4 on the season and not looking to repeat their awful campaign of a year ago. Their wins have come over the Rockets (twice), Bucks, Lakers and Blazers. Not world beaters, especially early in the season, but wins are wins.

The Nuggets are above .500, but are suffering yet another round of injury. Joffrey Lauvergne, Jusuf Nurkic and Wilson Chandler (season) are out.

Danilo Gallinari is back with a vengeance, scoring 19 points while Kenneth Faried is tallying 14 points and 10 rebounds a night. Emmanuel Mudiay, a star-looking rookie, will be a handful for Eric Bledsoe at the point, with the venerable Jameer Nelson as his backup.

Probable Lineups

Mudiay has been excellent and getting better, with nearly 12 points and 7 assists per game. He's a load and will give Eric Bledsoe a run for his money on defense to contain.

On the front line, the Suns will love having Tyson Chandler in there to battle with Faried for rebounds.

On the wing, young Gary Harris - a Suns fan favorite from the 2014 Draft - starts at shooting guard against the red-hot Brandon Knight. You might think it's young Harris versus old Knight, but there's only a 2-year age difference between the two.

We will find out today if Markieff Morris (mild knee sprain) is a go. If not, it's Jon Leuer battling Faried/Hickson. I like that matchup, actually.

Early Season Stats

The Nuggets are rivaling the Suns for middle-of-the-road results, so tonight's matchup should be decided by home court advantage.

Did you know?

The Nuggets have long had a reputation for being a young, exciting team on the rise. Yet, they are starting to get a little older among their post-Melo core. They have to hope Jusuf Nurkic (injured) and Mudiay can carry them into the future. Right now, their rotation consists of only two players under the age of 25 (while Nurkic is out), and they don't have anyone closer to an All-Star bid than the Suns do.

Prediction

The Suns win this one.

They have to. The kids deserve to see a Suns win.