Suns @ Thunder Friday game thread, November 28th, 2025

[Mainstreet]

On Friday, the Suns finish their two game road trip at the Thunder.

The Thunder are 18-1 on the season. They have won their last 10 games.

Phoenix moves to 12-7 after beating the Kings.

This is a Cup game.

Location: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

When: Friday, November 28th, 2025

Television: Suns+, Arizona's Family 3TV / Arizona's Family Sports

Time: 7:30 PM Arizona time

Radio: KMVP 98.7 / S: KSUN

The Suns play the Nuggets at home on Saturday. It's the second night of back-to-back games.

 

[Mainstreet]

An update where the Suns stand on Cup play prior to the game with the Thunder.

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[Yuma]

We could still advance in the cup with an L, if we keep the score close and maintain our point differential advantage. If we get blown out big time, all bets are off.

 

[BirdGangThing]

im thinking gillespie starts even if grayson's a go

gillespie can hit the 3 same way grayson can but he's a true pg and run the team letting book cook - hoping to find a clip of the whole 1st quarter last night because tge ball movement and pace were phenomenal

but gillespie cooled off same way book did after the first - they ended up within 1 point of eachother after the 1st quarter and after the game but the kings defense had a lot to do with that

latest pattern is book starting strong in the 1st then fading - im not worried his shot will come back - i would be very thankful for the assassin book to play against okc - and devin is freakin due

im 99% sure williams starts leaving 1% for injury but the way he and book sounded after the game... okc is on their mind - I dare say we overlooked sacramento and still beat them by 12 (they don't suck btw)

this is by far the biggest game of the year for me - we'd have to play our best defense for 4 quarters - dig deep - focus - get tough and not whine - really really really really wish we have dunn for this one

 

[JCSunsfan]

Some have talked about treating this game as a scheduled loss. I don’t think you will convince these players of that.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Some have talked about treating this game as a scheduled loss. I don’t think you will convince these players of that.

And while I don't personally care much about the cup, I'm guessing the players do. They will likely play Williams and try to win this game.

 

[Chaplin]

Some have talked about treating this game as a scheduled loss. I don’t think you will convince these players of that.

Well, of course not. But as fans, we have to face reality at some point.

We're a decent middling team right now, which is much better than what most of us thought we would be. OKC is a juggernaut, the best team in the league by a wide margin. It is what it is.

If we somehow pull out a win, I will be happy as all get-out to eat crow, but the odds of that are pretty low.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Interesting dilemma the Thunder are in. They have a great team and all those draft picks coming. But you can only put 5 players on the floor at one time, and finding the right coach these days is really hard.

Cap rules make it really hard to keep all those picks down the road. That’s what happened to the Durant/Westbrook/Harden OKC team.

In the moment; they are a great team. But this league is not designed for dynasties anymore unless you have a Jordan/Bird/Magic type of player.

Okc has a better shot at it than any other right now. Will they be able to keep it together? The Spurs did it by consistency in the front office and coaching, and a couple lottery balla going just right.

This league seems to be moving away from a star dominated game and more toward team ball. The biggest stars now are not as far above the other players as they were in the past IMO. Coaching and team chemistry are the future IMO.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Interesting dilemma the Thunder are in. They have a great team and all those draft picks coming. But you can only put 5 players on the floor at one time, and finding the right coach these days is really hard.

Cap rules make it really hard to keep all those picks down the road. That’s what happened to the Durant/Westbrook/Harden OKC team.

In the moment; they are a great team. But this league is not designed for dynasties anymore unless you have a Jordan/Bird/Magic type of player.

Okc has a better shot at it than any other right now. Will they be able to keep it together? The Spurs did it by consistency in the front office and coaching, and a couple lottery balla going just right.

This league seems to be moving away from a star dominated game and more toward team ball. The biggest stars now are not as far above the other players as they were in the past IMO. Coaching and team chemistry are the future IMO.

If they hit on the draft picks, those will likely be what makes them a long-standing dynasty because it will allow them to replenish good role players leaving for greener pastures with cheap guys on rookie deals around their stars.

They’re also showing right now at a scorching 18-1 that they might not even need all three of those stars as Jaylen Williams hasn’t even started playing yet this season. That’s insane.

 

[BirdGangThing]

okc plays fast long no nonsense beautiful passionate pure basketball - which is where ott wants to get

sga doesn't get in book's head the way luka/ant does - sga likes to do sga same way book likes to do book

but if we do maybe want to perhaps intentionally and purposefully have the game slow down get a little chippy... a little less beautiful... dtv has been infectious

i never knew oneale was so tough - grayson yes - assumed gillespie was - only way guys like that make it - dunn of course - williams is a manly man - oso's gotten tougher - stay outta richards' way... im leaving one guy's name out here and that's ok - because like sga he just needs to drop 30

but i think ott wants to compete with the "far superior" okc - inflict the diabolical type strategies that left wemby weeping - that got us to 12-7

i don't have us winning this game but we can't get trounced and bounced from the cup - and there's always a chance especially when your squad doesn't quit - like the people at my job today lol

 

[Superbone]

Well, of course not. But as fans, we have to face reality at some point.

We're a decent middling team right now, which is much better than what most of us thought we would be. OKC is a juggernaut, the best team in the league by a wide margin. It is what it is.

If we somehow pull out a win, I will be happy as all get-out to eat crow, but the odds of that are pretty low.

Well, of course. I think most of us are aware of all of that and know a loss is the most likely outcome. But we're all very thankful for how competitive our team is and that they will give it their all no matter who the opponent is and whether they are "supposed" to win or not.

 

[Mainstreet]

Interesting dilemma the Thunder are in. They have a great team and all those draft picks coming. But you can only put 5 players on the floor at one time, and finding the right coach these days is really hard.

Cap rules make it really hard to keep all those picks down the road. That’s what happened to the Durant/Westbrook/Harden OKC team.

In the moment; they are a great team. But this league is not designed for dynasties anymore unless you have a Jordan/Bird/Magic type of player.

Okc has a better shot at it than any other right now. Will they be able to keep it together? The Spurs did it by consistency in the front office and coaching, and a couple lottery balla going just right.

This league seems to be moving away from a star dominated game and more toward team ball. The biggest stars now are not as far above the other players as they were in the past IMO. Coaching and team chemistry are the future IMO.

Draft picks can always be traded for future draft picks. Some team will bite.

 

[Mainstreet]

I love it that we are even talking about the Suns beating the Thunder who are the best team in the NBA... and on their home court.

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[Mainstreet]

The Suns continue shorthanded. No Grayson Allen, Ryan Dunn or Jalen Green.

Jalen Williams is no longer on the Thunder injury report.

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[Mainstreet]

JMHO, the best chance for Allen and Dunn to return is Friday, December 5th against the Rockets after a three day break.

 

[Ronin]

OKC's Williams off injury report; to debut Friday

Thunder All-NBA guard Jalen Williams is set to make his season debut against the Suns on Friday.

www.espn.com

 

[Ronin]

Suns rule Grayson Allen, Ryan Dunn out for Thunder game

Grayson Allen and Ryan Dunn have been ruled out for the Phoenix Suns' NBA Cup game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

arizonasports.com

 

[Ronin]

NBA Cup tracker: Suns battling for top spot in West Group A

The Phoenix Suns and Oklahoma City Thunder remain in a battle for the top spot in West Group A in the 2025 NBA Cup. Here's a look at the full standings.

arizonasports.com

 

[Cheesebeef]

The Suns continue shorthanded. No Grayson Allen, Ryan Dunn or Jalen Green.

Jalen Williams is no longer on the Thunder injury report.

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Yeah… there’s no reason to play Williams in this game, IMO.

 

[Phrazbit]

If we lose this game, which I expect we will, we kinda need to get blown out. We don't want to qualify for the cup if we lose because the only thing that will earn us is ANOTHER road game against OKC, while the alternative (I'm rather certain) is a home game against one of the lower teams to not advance.

If we wanna make the playoffs, every game counts.

 

[BirdGangThing]

we get to compete against the best tonight on their home court - measure ourselves - technically we won our last match up but we haven't we haven't been playing our best basketball for a few games now

i want to see the focus return for long stretches - i want to see someone other than dtv land their plane in a thunder player's emotional headspace - and some team defense jumping passing lanes because okc likes to moves the rock

most of all i wanna see devin booker - he and sga have more of a mutual respect than a full blown rivalry - there's no reason for book to play shook tonight - book only had 1 turnover on wednesday but that shot needs to drop in oklahoma and please book... for the love of ball please don't whine IN okc tonight - just don't do it

book is in this pattern of scoring in the 1st quarter and snoring in the 2nd - he plays defense the whole time and runs the team but what we need is that unstoppable scorer to help us close the half and he's just not doing it

my take (because ott is already lowkey experimenting with it) is ott might not play book the whole 1st quarter tonight - it's trickier minute-wise with grayson out but something needs to change

both vogel and bud tried taking book out in the 1st quarter but it never took

 

[Finito]

Draft picks can always be traded for future draft picks. Some team will bite.

Yup they’ll just keep the ball rolling and war chest full. What’s an amazing job by that front office

 

[Superbone]

Easy game tonight and one we should win. Oops, sorry, I was dreaming. I just woke up.

 

[Superbone]

we get to compete against the best tonight on their home court - measure ourselves - technically we won our last match up but we haven't we haven't been playing our best basketball for a few games now

i want to see the focus return for long stretches - i want to see someone other than dtv land their plane in a thunder player's emotional headspace - and some team defense jumping passing lanes because okc likes to moves the rock

most of all i wanna see devin booker - he and sga have more of a mutual respect than a full blown rivalry - there's no reason for book to play shook tonight - book only had 1 turnover on wednesday but that shot needs to drop in oklahoma and please book... for the love of ball please don't whine IN okc tonight - just don't do it

book is in this pattern of scoring in the 1st quarter and snoring in the 2nd - he plays defense the whole time and runs the team but what we need is that unstoppable scorer to help us close the half and he's just not doing it

my take (because ott is already lowkey experimenting with it) is ott might not play book the whole 1st quarter tonight - it's trickier minute-wise with grayson out but something needs to change

both vogel and bud tried taking book out in the 1st quarter but it never took

Ah, the old scoring and snoring ploy. Why not play into it then and play him the whole first quarter and maybe into the second until he's no longer scoring and then sit him the rest of the half and let him sleep on the bench?

 

[BirdGangThing]

Ah, the old scoring and snoring ploy. Why not play into it then and play him the whole first quarter and maybe into the second until he's no longer scoring and then sit him the rest of the half and let him sleep on the bench?

when book is clicking our offense is clicking - we need to be clicking at the end of the first half instead of squandering leads we worked hard on - hard on hahaha haha - but for real we need him to get back in kill mode during the 2 minute drill