Kevin Durant, Bradley, Beal, Devin Booker will not play against Nuggets

If Simmons had been healthy last season, sources told The Post that Kevin Durant likely would’ve stayed on in Brooklyn even without Kyrie Irving. -via New York Post / October 10, 2023

The Suns have so much talent with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic. What do you think of this year’s team and do you think they can win it all? Shawn Marion: “Man, I think they got a chance just like anybody else, but, of course, their [championship hopes] are probably a little bit more realistic than some other teams. I just hope they stay healthy. When you stay healthy, you give yourself a chance. That’s the thing. A lot of teams deal with injuries, and they’ve been hit with the injury bug a little bit as well. But they’ve got Frank Vogel as the head coach out there now and he’s a defensive-minded guy. They just made another trade and got some other pieces to add to it — Grayson Allen and Jusuf Nurkic. I think that happened while I was out here; I was at a meeting when I got the alert and I was like, ‘Wow! They ain’t playing no games right now!’ Listen, at the end of the day, he’s trying to give himself and the organization the best chance to win. That’s what you gotta do.” -via basketballnews.com / October 10, 2023

“Very encouraging,” Vaughn said. “In the past, of some of the things he’s been able to do, and some of that, the behind-the-back, that’s part of his game. I understand that. And the pace that he plays with, unscripted and having a flair in the flow to his game, those things we want him to get back to doing was instinctive basketball. I think you saw some of that, and definitely a positive direction for him.” If Simmons had been healthy last season, sources told The Post that Kevin Durant likely would’ve stayed on in Brooklyn even without Kyrie Irving. -via New York Post / October 10, 2023

Who are your toughest covers? Alex Caruso: I get that question all the time from people I meet or guys I work out with randomly who I see for the first time. There are literally 20 names I could give you. This is how I describe it: If I follow the game plan and play really good defense, the best guys in the league—the 1-2 punches like DeMar (DeRozan) and Zach (LaVIne) for us—are still going to get their average. There’s just that much volume, transition, switches, so many opportunities. If I don’t do my job, they’ll go for 40 or 50. So you take your pick any night for toughest cover. Anybody who’s an All-Star and there are even some guys who come off the bench and average 20 a night. Jordan Clarkson is a good example. Jordan Clarkson is one of the harder guys to guard in the league because he can shoot from outside, he can shoot from midrange, he can get fouled. Makes good reads off counters. There are just so many guys in the league these days who are so skilled. There’s not one answer. There are the obvious ones, Steph (Curry), KD (Kevin Durant), LeBron (James), Devin Booker, Donovan Mitchell. Those two last year, I thought Book and Donovan Mitchell were really motivated because of the situations the teams had. It’s a really long list. -via NBC Sports Chicago / October 9, 2023

Gerald Bourguet: Final (OT): PHX 130, DET 126. Allen: 18-3-3, 7-11 FG, 3-6 3P, Booker: 12 Pts, 5-9 FG, Durant: 12 Pts, 4-7 FG, Beal: 11-4-3, 3-5 FG. All 16 Suns players who entered the game scored -via Twitter @GeraldBourguet / October 8, 2023