1. Nov. 19 at Philadelphia 76ers (NBA TV)
Probably a somewhat surprising choice, but there are quite a few reasons this road game against the Philadelphia 76ers sits atop the list.
For starters, there’s the battle of the big men. Deandre Ayton will be about a month into his NBA career at this point, facing one of his greatest tests yet in Joel Embiid. There’s a good chance Ayton has had this date circled on his calendar for awhile now:
Don’t compare Ayton to me either... I play DEFENSE
— Joel “Troel” Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) June 22, 2018
There’s also the Mikal Bridges vs. Zhaire Smith angle. There is no timetable for Smith’s return after a Jones fracture in his foot, but these two will forever be linked by the draft-night trade that saw Bridges, the No. 10 overall pick, drafted by his hometown team only to be immediately jettisoned to Phoenix.
Even if Zhaire Smith is sidelined by injury at this point (which seems likely), Bridges’ first game against the hometown team that shipped him away on draft night should be worth watching.
Finally, there’s the Suns’ golden child, Devin Booker, who had his best game of the 2017-18 season in Philly last year. In a surprising 14-point road win, Book went nuclear, finishing with 46 points, eight rebounds and five 3-pointers to lead the Suns past the eventual 3-seed in the West.
Booker unleashed a barrage of daggers on the Sixers in the fourth quarter to keep the game out of reach, finishing with the second-highest point total in his career. Considering he did it against another elite defense on the road, Booker’s first game back at Wells Fargo since that 46-point downpour is yet another storyline worth monitoring in this one.