Talk about an opening statement.
The Suns wasted no time reacquainting themselves with their run-and-gun ways to start the season. In a 119-99 rout over the Lakers, Phoenix made more three-pointers (16) than in any game last year. They scored 19 points on the fast break after averaging 18.7 in 2013-14.
Oh yeah, and it came at the rival Lakers' expense.
In short, Wednesday night could hardly have gone better. Here's what caught our eye, in ascending order of importance:
5. Rebounding by committee
Not one Suns player grabbed more than six rebounds. At least five of them finished with five, however, and the result was a 40-38 win in one of areas that Head Coach Jeff Hornacek thinks about most.
From 6-1 guard Eric Bledsoe (six boards) to 7-1 center Alex Len (five), Phoenix committed as a team to protecting the glass. There is still room for improvement. The Lakers snared 12 offensive boards, well above the league norm.
Still, the Suns have the formula to win the overall battle of the glass, and that's a great starting point on opening night.
4. Len made an impact
Highlights: #SunsVsLakers
His stat line nearly hides Len's influence on the game until the plus-minus column (showing how much a player's team outscores or is outscored while he is on the floor) shows up. Len's number: plus-25.
That stat went hand-in-hand with four of the starters, which is no accident. He played the majority of his 19 minutes with the Morris twins, Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic. With so much firepower on the floor, Len stuck to what he does best: altering shots and blocking out.
His presence was immediately visible. The Lakers simply couldn't get easy shots in the paint with Len lurking nearby. Lay-ups, put-backs, pull-ups, nearly every shot in the key was a wildly adjusted miss that further fueled the Suns' running game (we'll get to that in a minute).
"As long as he is, he doesn't have to jump," Hornacek said. "He can just get his arms in the air. He altered quite a few [shots]. That's just as important."
3. Marcus Morris was the forgotten man
Last season, the Morris brothers were key offensive cogs off the Suns' bench.
Starting together for at least one night, they became the afterthoughts of the Lakers' defense, which was busy trying to contain the Suns' guards.
Marcus in particular feasted on the lack of attention, sinking 5-of-9 from beyond the arc and finishing with 21 points in 8-of-14 shooting. When Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic or Isaiah Thomas drove, he was usually the last guy L.A. accounted for.
"I had fun starting and I'm happy we won," Morris said. "I hope every team leaves me open like that."
2. The ball — and the Suns — moved a lot
The Suns were second-to-last in the league in assists per game last season (19.1 apg). Hornacek was not unduly concerned with that stat, stating that if the ball was moving enough to his liking, that was enough.
Bledsoe to Plumlee
It did that and then some on Wednesday as Phoenix logged 23 assists while seemingly passing at least one step ahead of the Laker defense. If the offense stalled on one side of the floor, the Suns simply swung it to the guard on the other side to quickly initiate another play.
The end result was, more often that not, a contentedly clapping Hornacek on the sideline.
"I told the guys in the locker room after the game, 'when you pass the ball, when you move it and make those extra passes that gets someone a wide-open shot, that's fun for the coaches to see them do that,'" Hornacek said.
1. Point Guards of the Galaxy indeed
The nickname was coined by our own Greg Esposito, and he may be onto something (though, in fairness, so was the Suns' front office).
Bledsoe, Dragic and Thomas showed the preseason was no fluke, turning in the following efficient stat lines in very conservative minutes:
Bledsoe: 26 minutes, 16 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 5-7 FG, 3-4 3FG
Dragic: 26 minutes, 18 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 6-12 FG, 6-6 FT
Thomas: 20 minutes, 23 points, 3 assists, 9-11 FG, 5-7 3FG
The most impressive aspect of their performance: the hot hand naturally went back and forth. Bledsoe and Thomas took turns catching fire in the first half. Dragic owned the third with 12 points. Thomas polished things off in the fourth with eight more.
In short, there was no relief for the Laker guards, just as there's unlikely to be any rest for opposing backcourts for the majority of the season.