The home win over the Hornets ushered in a wave of two straight wins, and although these two victories, the Rockets and Hornets they won respectively, were back-to-back away games, but for the current Suns, there is no point in dwelling on this, they are surrounded by frustration inside, and victory is the only way to get them back on their feet and get through this shaky period. Coupled with the comeback of the third big man Bradley Beal, the Suns finally ended the most difficult stage before, and the big three combined again, which also brought them the first victory of the three together, and due to the Rockets' losing streak, the Suns also came to the 9th position in the West. 3 years and 54 million, joining the Suns, Phoenix is trading correctly, and his importance is higher than that of Beal.
With Beal's return, Durant broke out again at 884% terrifying true shooting rate hit 21 points, 11 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks, Booker is no longer entangled in the transformation of a two-way guard, focusing on individual offense, he seems to be slowly getting back to his former self, he used 18 shots in exchange for 35 points, which is also the key to the Suns' easy victory, although Beal has been in a mediocre state since his return, but at least he has helped the Suns improve the offensive space, and the defensive pressure on Durant and Booker is also a lot less. However, for the Suns to usher in such a big victory, the performance of other players is also crucial. Among them, Yusuf Nurkic is second only to Durant and Booker in importance, in my opinion.
Nurkic shot 10-of-13 from the field and chipped in 24 points, 15 rebounds and 2 blocks, while his true shooting percentage was over 80 percent (81.).3%), the Hornets only grabbed 26 rebounds in total, and Nurkic grabbed 15 rebounds alone, saying that he dominated the basket and had no problem at all. Not only that, the Suns have won two in a row, and it happened that after Nurkic came back, they played such an amazing offensive performance, and the two games that Nurkic missed due to illness before, the Suns were all defeated, in terms of record, Nurkic exists or not, the importance is self-evident, and in comparison, Nurkic is more important to the Suns than their third big man Beal.
This season, when Beal played, the Suns only had a 3-4 record, and even if the Big Three appeared together, the Suns' record was only 1-2, with a winning rate of less than 50%, but when Beal was absent, the Suns' winning rate was higher than 50%, which was the exact opposite of Nurkic. Of course, it's not that Beal isn't important, it's just that, for now, what Beal can bring to this Suns, Durant and Booker can do it, and Nurkic can help this team, and no one else can do it, even according to the overall contribution of this season, as of now, Nurkic should be called the third key player of the Suns, and his appearance or not has a great impact on the Suns.
12.4 points 104 rebounds and 36 assists 10 steals 12 blocks, that's Nurkic's average per game stat sheet this season, and although his finishing efficiency isn't that high, at least when he's on the floor, he can have some positive impact on the Suns on the inside. Looking back at the whistle-blowing trade the Suns made before the start of the new season, they used the last opportunity to send Ayton away in exchange for Nurkic, and the deal was undoubtedly a success. In terms of stats and influence, Nurkic is better than Ayton, and his salary contract is also more friendly, with 3 years and 5.4 million left on his contract, compared to Ayton's 3 years and 10.2 billion, Nurkic's expenses are almost half of Ayton's.
When the deal first happened, the skepticism almost swept towards the sun, but now, no one is discussing whether the deal was right or not. There's no doubt that Nurkic isn't the best, but it's the best interior for the Suns to get at this stage. The Suns' reverie on the road to the championship is the Nuggets, and Nurkic played a tough performance when he faced Jokic face-to-face, at least he looked from the scene, he was not afraid of Jokic at all, and even had a mentality of wanting to blow up the opponent. That's exactly what the Suns want, and it's a tough state that Ayton hasn't been able to play for almost his entire career.
And as far as the Suns' current lineup is concerned, it is not too much of a problem to say that Nurkic is the third core, his statistics may not be very good, and his scoring is even more mediocre, but his interior offensive and defensive influence is unmatched. Although they are all all-round insiders, Nurkic is more efficient at eating cakes than Ayton, at least some easy opportunities under the basket, he can grasp them, not like Ayton, which is frustrating. In addition, once the Suns are in trouble, Nurkic still has the ability to play singles with one hand to the basket, and his attitude is tougher than Ayton in all aspects, and his performance is enough to satisfy Ayton.