The road has not been smooth at all during the early stages of the 2023 NBA season for this championship-hungry Phoenix Suns team. After a disappointing start to the season where the Suns won only two matches out of the first four, the team now bears challenges and the burden of expectation. Injuries will become a critical challenge for the Suns, and Kevin Durant must take up the scoring burden while leading the team without these star players.

Suns will go against Philadelphia 76ers tonight in Philadelphia. It presents them a chance to return from their previous losses. A depleted Phoenix team has it tough against the fifth-ranked 76ers, whose three-point shots have been on point.

Phoenix Suns’ expected lineup

With their star duo, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker on the sidelines, the Phoenix Suns have been forced to look into their bench and call upon Eric Gordon and Grayson Allen to do the job. As such, this shakeup may mean a starting lineup for the Suns as the team plays the 76ers.

The Suns are likely to hit the court with a starting five that comprises Eric Gordon, Grayson Allen, Josh Okogie, Kevin Durant, and Jusuf Nurkic. Without a star lineup like Booker and Beal, this proves how well the team can bend and hold. They have distinct abilities that they try to combine and create an effective team to face the 76ers.

Durant and the Suns, who lost narrowly to the 76ers in the last encounter, will seek revenge on Monday. In the preceding match, the 76ers beat the Suns in a very tight contest with a score of 115-114. The Suns have decided to flip the script this time around. They aim to prove the depth of their squad, as well as their ability to work as a team.

Key Matchups Against the 76ers

The Phoenix Suns will get a stern challenge from a Philadelphia 76ers game. However, the 76ers currently have a high three-point shooting percentage ranking fifth in the NBA. The Suns will struggle against Maxey, Harris, and Oubre who shoot at over 45 percent from beyond the arc, as well as with Embiid’s 3-point range.

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Therefore, the Suns team has to be prepared to defend their rivals from the 76ers with their extraordinary accuracy in shooting. With such sharpshooters around, it is difficult to constrain Joel Embiid within such a short time. The 76ers must continue shooting at a high level as they can benefit from that advantage.

However, if the Suns spoil the 3-point rhythm of the 76ers and make misses, they will have sluggish play in which Embiid will be forced to pay attention to his post-scoring. In these battles, the final result might be decided.

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As the Suns embark on this critical matchup in Philadelphia, they face a twofold challenge: guarding the long-range shooters of the 76ers and making the best use of their team’s strengths, when their star players, such as Beal and Booker, are absent. It is a match that will test the Suns’ malleability and resoluteness, to get them back on the right path during the season.