What they’re saying about the Phoenix Suns

The NBA preseason has plenty of storylines for teams around the league. Here’s a roundup of the chatter the Suns have generated.

The Phoenix Suns are just about finished with their 5-game preseason schedule. They conclude their preseason tomorrow with a game against the Lakers at the Footprint Center.

The NBA season opens exactly one week from today in Los Angeles. Kevin Durant is approaching the 30,000-point milestone.

Along with that, we will break down the latest stories, interviews, buzz, and opinions on Phoenix Suns basketball below. One week away, folks!

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NBA preseason themes that caught my eye: Suns’ defense

By: Fred Katz

Katz highlights a defensive breakdown that must be cleaned up for the Suns ahead of the regular season. Despite a strong preseason overall, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows when discussing the Suns. There is still plenty that needs to be ironed out.

The Suns finished 13th in points allowed per possession last season, but they don’t have the rim protection to save them if the perimeter can’t squash dribblers. It appears that a rookie, Ryan Dunn, could help on that front. Dunn is already using his length to stifle the best of the best. Not many wings in existence can stay in front of a dribbler without crossing their feet, disallowing that guy from getting to the rim and poking the basketball out for a steal in the process. Dunn has already done that in the preseason.

He’s hitting his 3s, a question mark heading into the draft. If he can shoot well enough to play, Phoenix has help on the perimeter, along with Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale. But it can’t commit those unforced errors.

Suns got a steal in Ryan Dunn

By: Kevin O’Connor

“Here’s me and @DanTitus getting hyped about Dunn, Tyus Jones, and the new-look Phoenix Suns”

This is a great breakdown and a must-watch/listen from Kevin O’Connor on rookie Ryan Dunn. The media is watching and he is no longer a secret. Now it’s about translating that success to regular season success.

Dunc’d On Prime: Phoenix Suns 2024-25 Season Outlook with @SchwartzCenterM

By: Nate Duncan

Michael Schwartz is always worth a listen. Check out his season outlook on Dunc’d on below.

Tyus Jones says joining the @Suns is a “dream scenario” and @ChandlerParsons says Tyus is exactly what Phoenix needed.

By: Run It Back

Fun interview with Tyus Jones and Suns breakdown here.

The conversation: Can Kevin Durant and Devin Booker lead remixed Suns squad back into title contention

By: James Herbert

This is a fair, in-depth breakdown of the outlook of the Suns entering the 2024-25 season.

Given how disastrously the season ended, it is easy to forget that some things did go right for the Suns. In his pseudo-PG role, Booker’s assists went up, his turnovers went down and he scored as efficiently as usual. Durant only missed seven games, his fewest since tearing his Achilles in 2019. Jusuf Nurkic missed only six games, his fewest since 2017-18, and generally fit in about as well as Phoenix could have hoped. Grayson Allen had a career year, making an absurd 46.1% of his 3s.

Kendrick Perkins is high on… Mason Plumlee?

By: Kendrick Perkins

“The Phoenix Suns are my dark horse to win it all… This guy [Mason Plumlee]. He’s so valuable to this team. Every single team he’s been on, he’s helped them move the goalpost.”

I mean, that is certainly a take.

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Jusuf Nurkic Update: