A very interesting game in the NBA is going to happen on Tuesday night - Phoenix Suns will face the champion Golden State Warriors. After 3 games, the Suns have 2 wins and 1 loss and the same record is for the Warriors. If we look at the opponents that both teams have faced so far, Phoenix had a lot tougher schedule.

Phoenix showed real character as they were down by 22 points to Dallas Mavericks but managed to come back and win. A very close game was against Portland Trail Blazers and the Suns lost in the overtime although were up by 5 points in the extra time. The mini road trip team ended on a high note as they beat Los Angeles Clippers by 17 points. The defending champs had a lot easier schedule as they faced the Lakers, Nuggets and Kings. While the Lakers victory was easy, they lost to the Nuggets and struggled against the Kings so I'm picking the Suns in this matchup.

The Warriors won't rush things. Steve Kerr already told the media before the season that starters won't play heavy minutes right now. Stephen Curry has averaged 33.3 minutes, Andrew Wiggins has played 32.7 minutes but the rest of the team has played less than 30. A different situation is in Phoenix as Devin Booker and Mikal Bridges average more than 38 minutes, while Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul play more than 32. One of the Warriors bench players Donte DiVincenzo is out for a while with a hamstring injury and that will cause some different rotations but probably it won't affect starters much.

The Warriors are getting up and down the floor at a historic rate, which has allowed them to generate an average of 110.33 possessions per game through their first three games. That number ranks first in the NBA in the young season and is up from 98.74 a year ago. Golden State ended last year with a Defensive Rating of 106.6, ranking second in the NBA behind only the Celtics. However, that number has risen to 110.4 this year, and as a result, the Warriors have given up an average of 120.7 points per game (7th worst in the league) while allowing their opponents to shoot 47.5% from the field overall.

Phoenix ended last season with a Defensive Rating of 106.8, which ranked third in the NBA and just behind the Warriors. However, unlike Golden State, they have improved on that number early on in the 2022-23 season, seeing their Defensive Rating drop to 104.0 in the early going. Phoenix has played very slow basketball, ranking 27th in Pace (96.81) and that is going to slow down this game tremendously. The Suns are a team that brings a new dimension to the game that the Warriors have not seen yet, and I expect them to slow this game down and hold the Golden State offense in check while taking advantage of their shaky defense.

本译文使用有道机器翻译，仅供参考：

星期二晚上，NBA将上演一场非常有趣的比赛——菲尼克斯太阳队将对阵总冠军金州勇士队。3场比赛过后，太阳2胜1负，勇士也是如此。如果我们看看两支球队迄今为止面对的对手，太阳的赛程要艰难得多。

在落后达拉斯小牛队22分的情况下，太阳展现出了真正的性格，但他们设法追上并赢得了比赛。一场非常接近的比赛是对阵波特兰开拓者，太阳在加时赛中输掉了比赛，尽管他们在加时赛中领先了5分。这支小型客场之旅的球队以17分的优势击败了洛杉矶快船，以高潮结束了比赛。面对湖人、掘金和国王，卫冕冠军的赛程要轻松得多。虽然湖人轻松取胜，但他们输给了掘金，并在与国王的比赛中表现不佳，所以我在这场比赛中选择太阳。

勇士不会急于求成。史蒂夫·科尔在赛季前就已经告诉媒体，首发球员现在不会打太多的时间。斯蒂芬·库里场均出场33.3分钟，安德鲁·维金斯出场32.7分钟，而其他球员的出场时间不到30分钟。而在菲尼克斯，情况则有所不同，布克和布里奇斯的场均上场时间超过38分钟，而艾顿和保罗的出场时间超过32分钟。勇士的一名替补球员迪文佐因为腿筋受伤将缺阵一段时间，这将导致一些轮换，但可能不会对首发球员造成太大影响。

勇士队正以前所未有的速度在场上起起伏伏，这使得他们在前三场比赛中平均每场能产生110.33次进攻。这一数据在NBA青年赛季排名第一，高于一年前的98.74。金州勇士队去年的防守效率为106.6，在NBA排名第二，仅次于凯尔特人队。然而，这一数字在今年上升到了110.4分，结果勇士场均失去了120.7分(联盟倒数第七)，却让对手的投篮命中率达到了47.5%。

菲尼克斯上个赛季的防守效率为106.8，在NBA排名第三，仅次于勇士。然而，与金州勇士不同的是，他们在2022-23赛季的早期已经在这一数据上有所提高，他们的防守效率在早期下降到了104.0。太阳打得很慢，速度排在第27位(96.81)，这将极大地拖慢这场比赛。太阳是一支给比赛带来了勇士从未见过的新维度的球队，我希望他们能放慢比赛节奏，在利用勇士不稳定的防守的同时，牵制住勇士的进攻。