Suns edge Kings in preseason action, 112-102
Despite the loss of Amare Stoudemire for the next 4 months, the Suns look like they'll still be competitive and compete for the Pacific Division lead. Playing in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Phoenix looked pretty strong with their new nucleus of players. Shawn Marion, Eddie House and James Jones all scored 18 points and Steve Nash dished out 12 assists. A total of six Suns players scored in double figures and the team had 34 assists to go with only 8 turnovers.
The surprise here is not House, but James Jones. In my opinion, he looks a lot like Joe Johnson did a couple years ago when we first got him - a little raw, a little young, but a lot of potential. I think he's going to grow a lot with the Suns and should be a good 6th man or starter by next year. He's currently starting for Stoudemire, but that will only last until February.
Mike Bibby struggled for Sacramento shooting 1-11 and finishing with 2 points. Bonzi Wells led the Kings with 21 points, but Shareef Abdur-Rahim struggled with 9 points & 7 rebounds.
Phoenix is now 5-2 in preseason action, with one game to go against Golden State. The Suns open up the regular season at home against the Dallas Mavericks on November 1st (seen on TNT).