Phoenix Suns: 3 reality checks after loss to Nuggets

The Phoenix Suns looked impressive in their 2018-19 season opener, but their second game, a loss to the Denver Nuggets, brought a couple of key reality checks to light.

Tuesday’s season opener was a rare treat for Phoenix Suns fans. After getting thumped in their 2017-18 home opener by 48 points, a new-look Suns squad under first-year head coach Igor Kokoskov was thoroughly impressive in its 2018-19 debut, earning a 121-100 opening night victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

After a game in which Devin Booker scored 19 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, the Suns shot 19-for-34 from 3-point range and the team racked up 35 assists to 11 turnovers without a starting-caliber point guard, it felt like the start of something entirely new and promising.

While Phoenix is still on a much better path, the Suns’ 119-91 loss to the Denver Nuggets Saturday night served as an abrupt reminder how far there is to go still.

After shooting the lights out in game one, Phoenix shot just 28.2 percent from 3 in its first road game. Booker struggled with turnovers and with his shot, the team finished with 20 assists to 19 turnovers, and Deandre Ayton (five points, eight rebounds, five fouls and 2-of-7 shooting) came cratering back down to earth in a one-sided matchup with Nikola Jokic, who dominated with a 35-point, 12-rebound, 11-assist triple-double on a perfect 11-for-11 shooting night.

Two games is a limited sample size, and no one was expecting that fantastic first performance to be the norm moving forward, but after two starkly contrasting games, here are three important reality checks for a promising young team that still has quite a few hurdles to clear.