Preview: Suns Face Hawks for First Time This Season

The Suns’ road journey is nearly to an end.

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns (28-20) take on the Atlanta Hawks (20-27) on Friday night as they wrap up a nearly two-week road trip.

The Suns are on a high following their decisive 136-120 victory against the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night, while the Hawks soundly defeated the Lakers 138-122.

Grayson Allen (ankle) will return to the starting lineup for the Suns after missing just one game, and Bol Bol (foot) is expected to play after missing nearly a month.

Snub or All-Star, Trae Young?

Among this year’s All-Star team announcements, Hawks guard Trae Young was arguably the biggest disappointment.

Young averaged a double-double over the course of the two seasons, but he has already missed the last two All-Star games.

Over the past three or more seasons, the Oklahoma graduate has consistently been among the league leaders in points created for an offense and has gained immense popularity thanks to a combination of spectacular passing and 30-foot jumpers that would make for a highlight reel.

It’s sad that Young has lost favor with the NBA community over the last two seasons; don’t be shocked if the gifted guard plays brilliantly tonight.

Watch This Match: Clint Capela vs. Jusuf Nurkic

The big men’s duel might not seem like the most intriguing matchup on paper, but it has the potential to determineTI how the game will unfold.

While Nurkic and Capela both have comparable stat lines and have had differing degrees of success this season as rim protectors, Nurkic’s court vision could be the difference in this particular matchup.

Despite arriving in the Valley with relatively low expectations, the big man from Bosnia has been regarded as one of the silent success stories of Phoenix in his debut season.

Although Nurkic’s natural ability to spot an open player in the high post at the right moment could be the key to taking advantage of a porous Hawk defense tonight, to put it politely, Capela’s talent as a roll man and play finisher may create room on the perimeter.

Jalen Johnson is the player to watch.

In 2023–24, Jalen Johnson could be the most overlooked prospect for most improved player.

Jalen Johnson has progressed more than any player this season, even if players like Tyrese Maxey, Scottie Barnes, and Alperen Sengun have officially made the transition to stardom and garner most of the attention.

This season, the third-year forward’s statistics have increased as follows:

To cut a long tale short, Johnson has genuinely improved in every area, on both ends of the field.

The Duke product has long been viewed as a prospect who needs more time to hone his professional skills, and it appears that both parties have benefited from his two years of mostly learning the ropes.

Johnson is going to have an effect tonight.

Tonight, the Suns and Hawks are scheduled to tip just after 5:30 AZ time/7:30 EST.

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