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    Suns takeaways from the preseason finale

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    The Phoenix Suns finally played a preseason game with their starting five of Tyus Jones, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant and Jusuf Nurkic in Thursday’s 128-122 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

    Better late than never, even in a match that doesn’t count in the rankings.

    Nurkic had not played all preseason due to an injured left middle finger, while Booker missed the previous two preseason games with right ankle soreness.

    All five starters reached double figures, with Booker scoring a team-high 22 points. Durant went for 19 points, Nurkic delivered 15, Beal scored 13 and Jones added 11.

    Anthony Davis and rookie Dalton Knecht each scored 35 points to lead the Lakers.

    The Lakers rested LeBron James, but the Suns treated this as a dress rehearsal for a regular season that begins Oct. 23 at the Los Angeles Clippers.

    They still had Booker, Durant, Beal and Jones on the floor, along with backup big Mason Plumlee, with less than five minutes left.

    Here are three takeaways as the Suns have five days between Thursday’s preseason finale and the Oct. 23 opener.

    Nurkic debut class B-

    He’s definitely south of 290 pounds. Looks about 270, maybe a little lighter.

    Came bombing away from 3, as coach Mike Budenholzer has demanded. He hit his first, but Davis cooked from three-point land off screen and pop.

    Davis hit four of his first five from 3 and scored 14 quick points in the first. Davis is a matchup problem for all the bigs and Nurkic continues to struggle to control him even with the lighter feet.

    Nurkic has never been the best in pick-and-roll coverage, but he should improve with playing time.

    The seven-footer had a much better start to the second half. He went coast-to-coast for a layup and drew the foul, scoring on the inside and doing a better job guarding Davis, especially on a Davis drive. He was called for the foul, but his initial reaction was good as he tried to meet Davis at the rim.

    All in all, a fair to solid debut in 17 minutes of action. Nurkic shot 6-for-11 from the field, grabbed seven boards and blocked two shots, but was also called for three fouls.

    Combinations

    Budenholzer still has several lineups in what could become the norm. This is a guy who would take Giannis Antetokounmpo out of the game in the first quarter while coaching Milwaukee.

    So if you see Booker go to the bench in the first quarter when he would normally have played an entire first quarter, don’t be surprised.

    Budenholzer’s lineups ranged from Beal as the lone starter, to Nurkic and rookie Oso Ighodaro on the floor, to Durant playing the three with two bigs on the court.

    He had played against eleven guys in the first 18 to 19 minutes of the game.

    The question is: will the lineup mixes involve nine, ten, eleven or twelve guys? Grayson Allen dropped out with a sore Achilles tendon. He will definitely be in the rotation if healthy.

    Rookie Ryan Dunn should be in the mix. Budenholzer has options, but what will his minutes count be for Booker, Durant and Beal? Booker probably would have played more than 28 minutes. He injured his right ankle on a contested drive, but continued to play.

    Durant played 31 minutes and Beal saw action in 30 minutes. Keep an eye on how consistent the minutes are for the Big 3 regardless of how the game develops.

    Scoring is not a problem, defending is

    The Suns only stopped themselves on offense with the turnovers and committed 15, leading to 13 points for the Lakers.

    Beal committed five. Still hasn’t found a consistent way to play and had some issues defensively, committing four fouls and shooting 1 of 6 from 3.

    Phoenix only made 36 shots from 3, so 12, but shot 47% overall. They still managed 122 points without much from the 3 and gave away possessions. That’s how special they can be in attack.

    Defensively that’s a different story. Once again, they lack size as evidence for giving up 14 offensive rebounds and 21 second-chance points.

    I still have trouble bypassing the pick-and-roll because it allows for open shots. The Lakers also got some straight drives to the rim.

    Again, it’s preseason.

    Do you have an opinion on the current state of the suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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