Suns Boast Offensive Weapons Aplenty, But What About The Defense?

August 25, 2024

When it comes to offense, there’s no doubt that the Suns are stacked. In the event you’re wondering why that is … well, do names such as Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal ring a bell?

The Suns even have a new offensive-minded coach in Mike Budenholzer and a new setup man in Tyus Jones, formerly of the Wizards.

That’s all well and good, but what about the other end of the floor?

Yeah, there are questions and perhaps concerns — something that was addressed by Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report.

“Tyus Jones and Monte Morris are probably the two most reliable game-managing point guards of the last several seasons, and they’ll help organize the Phoenix Suns offense, making life easier for Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal,” Hughes wrote.

“Those two will also present undersized targets for opponents to attack, and switching schemes might not be viable at all. Concerns about Jusuf Nurkic‘s lack of lift have been around for a while, and even as he’s produced elite Defensive Estimated Plus/Minus figures (we’re talking 90th percentile or better) in six of his 10 career seasons, including last year, it somehow still feels as though he’s vulnerable in space against quick guards and lob-catchers.

“Durant is a year older, Beal probably can’t hold up to a full season of two-way play given his injury history, and Phoenix’s backup bigs — Mason Plumlee and Bol Bol — aren’t celebrated stoppers.

“The Suns finished a surprising 12th in defensive efficiency last year, and they’ll need to be at least that good to be taken seriously as deep-postseason threats.”

The Suns were swept out of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs by the Timberwolves last season. A big reason was their inability to slow the Wolves.

Will Phoenix be any better at that facet this year? Well, as they say, that’s why they play the games. In other words, we will learn soon enough.