How to watch the weird, awesome, new Phoenix Suns in the season opener against Golden State

The NBA treats its regular season the way Costco treats Christmas.

It starts too early.

Then again, if you’re a Phoenix Suns fan, it can’t start soon enough. (If you’re a Christmas fan, well, sorry. Before Halloween is still too early for decorations.)

This is going to be a wild season. There is no reason to expect it to be anything but great, can’t-miss TV.

But it’s going to take some getting used to.

More: Phoenix Suns vs. Golden State Warriors updates: What to know as Phoenix begins title quest

It’s a different kind of season for Phoenix. Expectations are high — when you’ve got Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal all in purple-and-orange uniforms, how could they not be?

The Ringer predicts that the “Suns will unleash the most efficient offense of all time.” ESPN has them ranked as the fourth-best team in the league.

Are the Suns underrated or great? How about both?

But there’s still a bit of an under-the-radar feel to the team this season, which puts the Suns in the enviable position of kinda sorta being an underdog (at least in the stacked Western Conference) and also having what looks like a great team.

Don’t underestimate that underdog, unappreciated energy — just ask the Arizona Diamondbacks, who rode it to the National League Championship Series. But at some point “doing better than we expected” turns into greater expectations. There’s also something to be said for being the bully of a team that beats up on everyone else. Just saying.

What time is the Suns game tonight?

The Suns begin the regular season against the Golden State Warriors at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24, on TNT. Ian Eagle will handle play-by-play; Stan Van Gundy serves as analyst. That’s a solid lineup.

In fact, three of Phoenix’s first four games are on TNT, a sign of national interest in the team. In fact, 12 of the team’s 82 regular-season games will be on national TV.

It’s the other 70 that get interesting, at least locally. Having finally thrown off the yoke of the now-defunct Bally Sports Arizona, which didn’t have deals with several major carriers, Suns games will be available locally on Arizona's Family 3TV and Arizona's Family Sports, and to stream on Kiswe.

About time.

Kevin Ray returns for play-by-play for local broadcasts, with Eddie Johnson and Ann Myers Drysdale back as analysts.

As for radio, the great Al McCoy finally retired after last season; Jon Bloom will call games, with Tim Kempton as analyst.

So what are they going to talk about?

'The dream': Al McCoy passes the mic after 51 years to Jon Bloom

Booker, Beal and Durant create some serious offense

Scoring, and lots of it. Durant, Booker and Beal are three of the league’s elite offensive players. Durant is a marvel, truly, but for my money Booker is the Sun who is most fun to watch — he plays with a throwback style as old-school as his vintage cars and that goofy camera he used to film the Diamondbacks in the NLCS.

It’s a new-look Suns team. If you want a gauge of how quick the turnover can be on an NBA team, there’s this: Remember when the Suns made the NBA Finals in 2021? I mean, how could you forget, right? And you know how many players are still on the team from that magical run?

One.

Where is Chris Paul? And Deandre Ayton?

Granted, it’s Booker, and he’s a pretty great player to build around. Still, it’ll be a little strange to watch games and not feel like Chris Paul or Deandre Ayton should be out there. (Actually, you can see Paul Tuesday; he plays for the Warriors now.)

Even the coach, Frank Vogel, is different. The team fired Monty Williams after last season — the same Monty Williams who was the NBA Coach of the Year the season before that. The NBA isn’t a what-have-you-done-for-me lately league. It’s a what-are-you-doing-for-me-now one.

So much that’s new, so much that’s good — this is going to be a blast. It’s also going to be weird.

And when it comes to TV, that’s a powerful combination.

What channel are the Phoenix Suns on tonight?

Phoenix Suns at Golden State Warriors; 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24 on TNT.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. X, formerly known as Twitter: @goodyk.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What time is the Suns game tonight? How to watch the season opener