Through 1⁄3 of the season, Phoenix does not look like a title contender.
One goal is on the mind of Phoenix Suns fans and management: a championship. There’s no exact formula to create one, but at the very least, you need an all-time great player playing at a high level leading the way, mixed with good coaching and management.
Kevin Durant? Devin Booker? Those guys are pretty elite; they do cool things like combine for 86 points in playoff games and average 27 each in the regular season.
Mike Budenholzer? Well, he did lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a title over the Suns in 2021 and has led multiple teams to 60-win seasons.
Mat Ishbia? Well, the jury is still out, but early returns appear that he is a player-first owner who cares about giving the fans the best experience possible at games (like lowering food prices) and giving the team the best chance they can to compete. He’s been willing to go into the luxury tax, and the environment he’s created has helped lead players like Tyus Jones to sign a minimum contract to come to the Valley, even though he had offers to receive more money elsewhere.
So yeah, if you look on the surface, the Suns are in a good spot to compete. But when you watch the games, like Saturday night’s against the Detroit Pistons, where the Pistons got whatever they wanted at the rim and from three and were able to combat every Phoenix run, similar to what the Indiana Pacers did to them on Thursday, it’s readily apparent that the Suns have major problems and do not appear to be in a good spot to compete with the top teams in the league.
Something needs to change; whether it’s trading for Jimmy Butler (which seems very unlikely), getting rid of Jusuf Nurkić and replacing him with a more defensive-minded, athletic big, or changing defensive rotations, it doesn’t matter. After starting the year as a strong defense, the Suns have one of the worst defensive ratings in the league.
“The Phoenix Suns are 26th in defensive rating.” pic.twitter.com/9BggdknsXG
— Suns JAM Session Podcast (@SunsJAM) December 22, 2024
Phoenix had the same exact record last year through 27 games, 14-13. This season, the team unequivocally has better continuity, roster, and injury luck through this point of the year. It can be forgotten, but Bradley Beal played just eight games in the 2023 part of the season. He’s played more than double that already.
While the team started this year on a high note, and still hold an elite record of 13-4 when Kevin Durant plays, they still aren’t able to win the gimmie games, and their lack of athleticism and defensive chops really becomes a problem when they play younger teams like the Pistons and Pacers, both teams that are under .500.
There is definitely time left in the season and the fact that the team is on a 62-win pace when KD, plays, independent of who else does is encouraging. The Boston Celtics famously were 20-21 through half the year three seasons ago before they went to the finals; another team with top talent that wasn’t performing at the level that their team and experience suggest they should have been.
Until the lousy effort, inability to get big stops, and injuries start to become less of a problem, Phoenix looks like a team more suited for the play-in tournament and an early playoff exit, than a long playoff run, let alone a championship.