The Golden State Warriors and host Phoenix Suns once again will see each other at less than full strength on Wednesday when the Pacific Division clubs meet in a rematch of their opening-night encounter.
Devin Booker poured in a game-high 32 points while Kevin Durant collected 18 points and 11 rebounds as the Suns tipped off the season with a 108-104 victory against Golden State on Oct. 24.
Missing from that head-to-head clash were two players who won’t be on the court in the rematch, either.
The Warriors’ Draymond Green, who began the season with a sprained ankle, currently is serving a five-game suspension.
The Suns’ Bradley Beal, meanwhile, continues to be bothered by a lower-back strain. The injury has kept him out of Phoenix’s past four games after he sat out the first seven contests of the campaign.
The absences of former All-Stars aren’t the only thing the clubs have in common. The earlier outcome was a sign of things to come for both teams.
The Suns have gone on to win four more times on the road to improve to 5-2 on the season away from Phoenix. They have struggled at home, however, needing a 120-107 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday to reach 3-4 for the season.
Meanwhile, the Warriors lost six of seven at home before recording a 121-116 win over the Houston Rockets on Monday. But they’ve nearly gotten themselves up to .500 for the season (7-8) by going 5-2 on the road.
The Warriors’ visit means Chris Paul will be making his first return to Phoenix since being dealt by the Suns to the Washington Wizards in June. The Wizards in turn rerouted him to Golden State in July in a swap that featured Jordan Poole.
Paul has enjoyed more than his fair share of success against the Suns in his career. He has averaged 19.3 points and 9.2 assists over 46 career games versus Phoenix.
After being ticketed for a reserve role, Paul started his Warriors’ debut last month and had 14 points, nine assists, six rebounds and two steals in the loss to the Suns.
His long-term role remains unclear — he’s still starting while Green is out — but Warriors coach Steve Kerr has made one thing clear: He’ll finish even if he doesn’t start.
“He was amazing,” Kerr said of Paul’s 15-point, 12-assist contribution to Monday’s win. “Having Chris down the stretch, getting us organized … he got the ball down low to Dario (Saric) late and he got fouled for the two free throws, called another play where Steph (Curry) got a layup. The beauty of having Chris out there is he’s a true point guard, organizer, game-closer.”
While the Warriors enjoyed Tuesday off, the Suns were forced to press Durant and Booker into 37 and 33 minutes of action, respectively, in a tight victory over the Trail Blazers.
Beating Portland meant spoiling the return of Deandre Ayton, who had 18 points and eight rebounds. Now the home fans get a chance to welcome back Paul, as well as Saric, another former Sun.
“There’s a lot of history there,” Booker said. “Deandre, from the No. 1 pick to making that Finals run, there’s a lot of development and growth. And Chris was a big part of that at the same time. I credit those guys. Dario, too.”
–Field Level Media