Open Thread: Phoenix Suns vs. Golden State Warriors

What: Phoenix Suns visit the Golden State Warriors

When: 7:00 PM AZ

Where: Oracle Arena

Watch: Fox Sports Arizona

Listen: 98.7 FM

Since I’m not covering tonight’s game, let me give you my three biggest areas to keep an eye on during the Suns’ third regular season game.

• Deandre Ayton needs to have a dominant showing going up against Damian Jones. He had a great opener versus DeAndre Jordan, but Nikola Jokic took him to school on Saturday in Denver. Far and away, Jones is Ayton’s easiest matchup thus far. From the get-go, Ayton needs to assert himself alongside Devin Booker. For the Suns to win, Ayton needs to put together his first 20 and 10 performance.
• Mikal Bridges has to play over 20 minutes. Following his strong debut versus the Nuggets, head coach Igor Kokoskov needs to fit him in somewhere. Especially going against the immense length Golden State has, countering with plenty of minutes for Bridges might be the smart play to maintain competitiveness. Either way, I expect Bridges to have another solid outing, cementing his place in the final rotation.
• Keep playing smart basketball. It may seem like an easy thing to say, but look no further than the assist-to-turnover ratios from the home and road openers. A complete contrast in efficiency resulting in blowouts from both directions. Phoenix will have to limit the turnovers to a minimum going up against the defending champions, or it could get out of hand quickly.

Probable starters:

Suns - Isaiah Canaan, Devin Booker, Trevor Ariza, Ryan Anderson, Deandre Ayton

Warriors - Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Damian Jones