5 takeaways from Phoenix Suns dropping preseason game at Denver Nuggets

The Phoenix Suns dropped to 1-2 in preseason play after Monday's 107-105 loss at Denver after having a nine-point lead early in the second half.

Devin Booker paced the Suns with 20 points on 5-of-17 shooting (2-of-9 from 3). Deandre Ayton posted a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds while Mikal Bridges added 14 points, hitting 3-of-5 from deep.

Ish Smith came off the bench to lead Denver to its first preseason win with 17 points as he hit the eventual game-winner with 8.4 seconds left. Suns two-way player Duane Washington Jr. missed a 3 with 2.0 seconds left and Nuggets rookie Christian Braun rebounded as time expired.

Here are five takeaways as Phoenix closes out preseason play Wednesday against Sacramento at Footprint Center. The Suns open the regular season Oct. 19 versus Dallas in a rematch of last season's Western Conference semifinals the Mavericks won in seven games.

Chris Paul's role

Bridges is handling the ball more and initiating offense.

The Suns are trying to run their plays through Ayton more.

And Booker is going to be Booker.

So through three preseason games, Suns veteran point guard Chris Paul has definitely been more of a facilitator than the first or second option.

• vs. Adelaide 36ers: 6 points (2-of-4 FGs), 12 assists in 22 minutes.

• vs. Lakers (in Las Vegas): 13 points (5-of-11 FGs), 10 assists in 26 minutes.

• at Nuggets: 6 points (1-of-4 FGs), eight assists in 29 minutes.

On the surface, the stats show the Suns win when Paul is more aggressive to score, but they're trying to give Ayton, Bridges and Cam Johnson chances to play a bigger role on the offensive end.

Phoenix needs those three to help Booker and Paul come playoff time. Suns coach Monty Williams said the Suns can't win without Booker and Paul being a big part of the offense, but Paul shouldn't have to score as much if Ayton, Bridges and Booker are putting up big numbers.

Those three combined for 53 points Monday. Pretty good, but say they average 65 or so a night with Booker getting 26 to 28, Ayton 20 to 22 and Bridges going for 16 to 18.

If that happens, the 37-year-old Paul is likely having a career year in assists in his 18th NBA season. His career high is 11.6 in his third season while playing for New Orleans.

Budding rivalry renewed?

Now keep in mind the Nuggets were without injured Nikola Jokic (right wrist sprain) and Jamal Murray (left hamstring tightness). Denver coach Michael Malone also rested Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

So four of Denver's five starters didn't play and the one who did, Michael Porter Jr., didn't play well. He scored nine points on 2-of-11 shooting (1-of-5 from 3).

Hard to judge the Nuggets without those players, but the Suns were minus Johnson (sprained right thumb), Landry Shamet (left hip strain), Cameron Payne (right finger sprain) and Dario Saric (personal reasons).

This was looking like a possible budding rivalry three seasons ago as Murray had huge games against the Suns. Jokic and Ayton have had some great battles, but the Suns took over the series when sweeping Denver in the 2021 conference semifinals.

The Nuggets were without Murray, who later missed the entire 2021-22 season with a knee injury suffered the season before.

The Suns and Nuggets will meet for the first time this regular season on Christmas Day in Denver. Much more will be revealed about both teams by then in what could be a first-round series in the 2023 playoffs.

In the post

Jock Landale looked to post up in the fourth quarter and Bruce Brown, a solid defender, came over to double a guy who averaged 4.9 points as a rookie last season.

Landale in the post is interesting.

Very interesting.

Ayton can score on the block, but likes to shoot jump shots and has been working on his faceup game.

Booker can play bully ball in the post and even Bridges has made that a part of his game against smaller defenders, particularly in transition.

However, Landale may already be the team's second-best post player. He can score over either shoulder and scored on the block in the first half Monday.

That's why Brown went over to double in the fourth quarter.

Williams says he's looking at possibly playing Landale at the four. So maybe he tries to play Landale and Ayton together as the two can both score on all three levels.

Craig is key reserve for Suns

Torrey Craig's role changed Monday as he started for Johnson.

Johnson suffered the injury in last week's preseason win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Las Vegas.

Craig scored just three points, but he grabbed four boards, two blocks and made a number of hustle plays. He's establishing himself as the backup four, but could have a huge role if Williams follows through with his plan to have Johnson come out of the game in the first quarter and play him with the second unit to start the second quarter.

Johnson was a finalist for last season's NBA Sixth Man of the Year award and anchored the second unit. As a starter, it may be a challenge to find shots, but that wouldn't be a concern with the second unit.

What Williams likes about Craig is he doesn't have to call plays for him. If Craig is on the floor with three starters like Booker, Ayton and Paul, Craig can just roam and be an active body instead of having to create offense.

Okogie debut

Josh Okogie saw his first action with the Suns after missing the first two preseason games with a left hamstring strain.

Playing eight minutes in the first half, Okogie didn't score on 0-of-3 shooting (0-for-2 from 3). He was unable to finish a drive in the lane.

Looked like he was trying to find his legs in the first half. He finished the game with three points on 1-of-4 shooting in 15 minutes.

Williams is looking to see how he and Shamet look on the court together, but Shamet missed Monday's game with an injury.

The Suns have been without Jae Crowder all training camp as they've been trying to trade him. With Phoenix playing Wednesday, curious to see if Okogie plays or sits as a precaution.

Not again

Remember last season when the Nuggets had Amir Coffey's photo on the scoreboard jumbotron when introducing Devin Booker?

Although the Nuggets said it that was not done intentionally as the Clippers played at Denver two days earlier, Booker said he thought that was "purposely done" and took it as disrespect.

He scored 49 points in leading Phoenix to its 60th win of the 2021-22 season.

On Monday night, the Nuggets PA mistakenly said Ayton instead of DeAndre Jordan when introducing their starting center.

The look on Jordan's face is priceless as it appeared he was ready to leave the team huddle to talk to someone before hanging on the outskirts of it to break.

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Can Booker, Ayton and Bridges average 65 to 70 for Phoenix Suns?