Devin Booker on being surrounded by young players on Suns
Devin Booker, once a young phenom, is now a veteran surrounded by young players: “It’s a lot of jokes.”
PORTLAND — The Phoenix Suns face the Portland Trail Blazers for the first time this season Tuesday, Nov. 18, at Moda Center as they look to bounce back from Sunday’s 124-122 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
The 9 p.m. game will be televised on NBC and Arizona’s Family (3TV), and will stream on Peacock.
The Suns (8-6) blew a 22-point advantage in the fourth quarter against the Hawks (9-5) in having their five-game winning streak snapped.
Portland has dropped its last two games, falling at Houston, 140-116, and at Dallas in overtime, 138-133, Sunday, to end a five-game road trip.
The Suns are without Grayson Allen, who will miss a second straight game with a right quad contusion, and Jalen Green, who remains sidelined with a right hamstring strain. Phoenix announced last week that Green would be re-evaluated in four to six weeks as he reinjured it for a second time in road win Nov. 8 against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Blazers are down Scoot Henderson (left hamstring tear) and Jrue Holiday (right calf soreness) is listed as doubtful.
Visit azcentral.com for updates.
Suns sticking with Dunn in starting lineup
Ryan Dunn will make a second straight start as Grayson Allen works his way back from a right quad contusion. Allen will miss a second straight game with the injury Tuesday against the Blazers.
Suns coach Jordan Ott explained why Dunn is starting as opposed to Collin Gillespie.
“How the team and our rotations are when (Devin Booker) comes off the floor, having a primary ball handler in the game, but also at the same time, Ryan has the ability to handle and initiate the offense,” Ott said pregame. “And then using Ryan’s minutes against some of those tougher matchups.”
The Suns are starting Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks, Dunn, Royce O’Neale and Mark Williams while the Blazers are starting Deni Avdija, Shaedon Sharpe, Kris Murray, Toumani Camara and Donovan Clingan.
The Suns drafted Camara in the second round of the 2023 draft, but traded him to Portland before training camp that year in a deal that sent Deandre Ayton to the Blazers, Damian Lillard to Milwaukee and Jusuf Nurkic to the Suns.
The Phoenix Suns waived two-way player CJ Huntley on Nov. 17, and signed guard Jamaree Bouyea (pronounced juh-MAR-ee boo-yay) to a two-way deal on Nov. 18, the team announced.
NBA teams can only have three two-way players. Isaiah Livers and rookie Koby Brea are also on two-way deals for the Suns.
Bouyea is with the Suns on this road trip. He has played for the Miami Heat, Washington Wizards, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs and Milwaukee Bucks. He’s scored a total of 53 points in 19 NBA career games from the 2022-23 season to the 2024-25 season.
The Suns are down two guards in Grayson Allen (right quad contusion) and Jalen Green (right hamstring strain). Allen missed Sunday’s loss, Nov. 16, to the Atlanta Hawks after suffering the injury in the first half of last week’s win against the Indiana Pacers.
Allen sat out the second half versus the Pacers.
Green has only played two games for the Suns in his first season with the team. Green scored 29 points in his debut Nov. 6 against the Los Angeles Clippers in a home victory after missing the first eight games of the season, but he reinjured his hamstring in the first quarter of a road win over the Clippers.
Green and Allen are with the team in Portland.
Huntley never played a game for the Suns. An undrafted rookie big out of Appalachian State, Huntley was on a two-way. He played three games for Phoenix’s G League team, Valley Suns.
Huntley averaged 13.3 points and 9.7 rebounds in three G League games this season.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today.
