The Phoenix Suns’ 2022–23 NBA season will start off against the same opponent that gave them the boot in the 2022 NBA playoffs.
The Suns will play the Dallas Mavericks in their season opener on Wednesday, Oct. 19, at 7 pm at the Footprint Center, the league formally confirmed on Wednesday. ESPN will broadcast the game nationwide.
That’s huge because remember that Phoenix suffered a 123-90 home loss to Dallas in the Western Conference playoffs last year, losing the series in seven games.
The Suns’ schedule reflects their recent success as a major NBA contender led by talents Chris Paul and Devin Booker. 34 of the games will be broadcast nationally, with 11 scheduled for ESPN, 9 for TNT, 2 for ABC, and 12 for NBATV.
Whether the Suns will live up to the lofty expectations is still up in the air, though. They fell way short last season, exiting the playoffs in the second round after being tagged as a bona fide title favorite. They almost got knocked off in the first round, in fact, after the New Orleans Pelicans surprisingly pushed them to six games.
Having said that, the Suns remain one of the best draws this coming season. Let’s look at a handful of their can’t-miss games in 2022-23.
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Must-Watch Games on the Suns’ Schedule
vs. Mavs, Oct. 19
As the Suns’ season opener, this matchup would draw a ton of interest. The main plot point here is that the Suns are looking for a significant measure of payback. Again, recall that the Mavs unseated the Suns in the 2022 postseason. Chris Paul & co. have certainly not forgotten.
The stench from the Suns’ Game 7 home humiliation — when Luka Doncic matched the entire Phoenix team’s scoring total in the first half — continues to linger in the Arizona desert. The Suns — retooled and reloaded — are raring to tip their season off in a big way. Beating the Mavs would be nothing short of a golden start in Phoenix.
Of course, another wrinkle in this matchup is Javale McGee. The big man played for the Suns last year and then signed with the Mavs this offseason.
vs. Warriors, Oct. 25
The defending champions traveled to Phoenix to face off against the would-have-been champions. Many still feel the Suns were maybe the best team last season, but there is also no doubt that the Warriors were pretty much untouchable in the playoffs.
The Suns surely want another serious crack at the NBA title, and they know doing so means having to go through the Warriors.
The teams split their season series in the 2021-22 season, and the current matchups imply that this should be a pretty even affair again.
vs. Lakers, Nov. 22
Only a minority of fans believe the Los Angeles Lakers are still among the elite teams in the NBA. That’s not shocking given how the purple & gold infamously underwhelmed last season. Still, despite their diminished luster, anytime LeBron James and his Lakeshow come to town, there’s an inescapable buzz.
This comes early in the season as well, and the Lakers should presumably be at or very close to full strength. We’re not sure if Russell Westbrook will still be around, but whether it’s Russ running point or former LBJ teammate Kyrie Irving, this should still be a dynamic matchup.
Nevertheless, the Suns should still be the deeper squad, and given how they’re playing at home, they should come out with the W. Remember, too, that the Suns swept the Lakers in all four of their games last season.
at Nuggets, Dec. 25
Christmas Day will be a mighty wild day for Arizona sports fans. Aside from the Suns playing the Denver Nuggets up in Colorado, the Arizona Cardinals will also have a marquee Sunday Night Football matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It will be the second straight year the Suns have played on Christmas. Keep in mind that they lost last year to the Golden State Warriors, 116-107, at the Footprint Center during Christmas.
The Denver Nuggets are set to host the Phoenix Suns on Christmas Day.
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— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) August 14, 2022
The Suns also went 2-1 against the Nuggets last season in their head-to-head. They lost to Denver in the opener but beat them twice in November. Phoenix also won one final time in late March for their 60th win of the season.
The key matchups here, of course, are in the backcourt and right in the middle. Chris Paul will have to face a Nuggets squad parading a healthy Jamal Murray, while the newly re-signed Deandre Ayton will have to try and slow down reigning MVP Nikola Jokic.
at Grizzlies, Jan. 16
As part of the NBA’s Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, the Suns get to play a matinée game at the FedExForum. This should be quite an exciting game since the Grizzlies could be a legitimate Western Conference contender. Don’t forget that the Grizzlies were the second seeds in the West last season right behind the Suns.
The key matchup is obviously between the aging Chris Paul and the dynamic Ja Morant. They have very different playing styles, but they are still the undisputed leaders of their respective squads. Will CP3’s deliberate style of play be the perfect foil to Morant’s ultra-explosive game? We’ll see. Last season, the Suns lost two of their three games against the Grizzlies.
Take note as well that this will be the teams’ third meeting of the season. By mid-January, they should be extremely familiar with each other, and that is a recipe for a very entertaining clash.
