Why are the Suns already struggling? Size, rebounding, and defense…oh my!

We were aware of the potential issues entering the season and hoped they wouldn’t come to fruition. Yet, against two subpar L.A. teams, those concerns have surfaced.

The Lakers. The Clippers. Before the season started, these two teams were expected to have down years. While competitiveness is a given, a Phoenix Suns roster — newly shaped and led by an offense-oriented head coach — should ideally have no trouble against either Los Angeles squad. Yet, after a road trip to the City of Angels, the Suns have already raised some concerns.

The team scored 116 points in both games, one ending in a victory and the other in a loss. The win? They trailed by ten points in the fourth quarter and needed everything to fall in their favor to pull off an overtime comeback. The loss? Despite holding a 22-point lead, they fell into a pattern of fouls, turnovers, and complacency, allowing the Lakers to mount a comeback.

“It’s super frustrating,” Bradley Beal said after the game. “We had them down 15, 20. They were all discombobulated. We had them right where we wanted them. They didn’t really have an answer for it. We got real complacent.”

We’re only two games in, so it’s far from panic time. Still, early results give a glimpse into what we hope to see.

There have been flashes where the team looks unstoppable. Realistically, no one expects them to maintain shooting 8-of-11 from three all game, as they did in the first quarter against the Lakers. But sustained focus and competitiveness, the backbone of a championship team, have been lacking in these opening matchups.

Other issues, however, are already starting to show.

Size and Rebounding

Coming into the season, we knew size might be an issue for the Suns and questioned how they would address it.

Nurkic has slimmed down, but that hasn’t necessarily translated into more athleticism. His ability to jump quickly for rebounds, putbacks, or layups is almost absent. Against a player like Anthony Davis, these limitations become glaring.

It’s something to keep an eye on as the season unfolds, but the Suns’ lack of size against the Lakers last night was costly. They had to move Kevin Durant to the five — never an ideal situation against such size, given that he’s not exactly what you’d call a “girthy man.”

Why this adjustment? Nurkic was struggling, visibly overwhelmed. He seemed to play too fast, almost like he was combusting internally. I get that this team aims to play with pace, but Nurkic was rushing his own clock, leading to sloppy play and turnovers in nearly every action he touched.

Rebounding is the other side of this. You don’t have size, you don’t have rebounding. You may not have noticed it against the Clippers, but it was there: the team was outrebounded 51-42, giving up 13 offensive boards. And against the Lakers, the team simply looked smaller the entire game.

The Suns have become a one-and-done team on offense, a strategy that works well when shooting 75% from the field. But when shots stop falling, as they did in the second half against the Lakers, the lack of rebounding and second-chance opportunities becomes a real issue. Through just two games, the Suns rank 29th in the league in offensive rebounding and 27th in second-chance points.

Defense

A consistent theme in Los Angeles has been the Suns’ lack of defense. With so many offensively-minded, skilled players, the hope was they wouldn’t need to expend as much energy creating offensive opportunities. The idea was that saved energy could instead go toward defensive intensity.

But that hasn’t materialized.

The Suns could be called the Phoenix Matadors for their inability to prevent players from driving to the basket or getting open looks. Olé! And as this happens, Suns defenders end up fouling in attempts to recover. While the “Laker whistle” likely plays a part, it’s clear Phoenix has a fouling issue; they’re currently 9th in the league with 24.5 fouls per game. Unsurprisingly, the Lakers had 39 free-throw attempts to the Suns’ 17, a familiar pattern for Phoenix fans when facing Los Angeles.

“We got to do a better job of not fouling,” Durant said after the loss to the Lakers. “Then we turned that ball over a lot in that 2nd quarter, we gave them momentum.”

Devin Booker has embodied the team’s fouling issues, often arriving late on assignments and letting opposing players blow by him. He’s already accumulated nine fouls in just two games. Bradley Beal hasn’t fared much better, posting a team-worst 119.0 defensive rating. Both of our superstar guards can’t guard lick.

The challenge only intensifies tonight as the Dallas Mavericks arrive with two of the league’s top penetrators. If Phoenix can’t find ways to improve their lateral movement, get in front of players, and do it without fouling, they’re in for a tough night.

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Eighty more of these to go. Each game, a new chapter, with plenty of peaks and valleys ahead. While other teams have started strong — scoring in bunches and looking like world-beaters — the Suns stumbled out of the gate. Down on one knee, they’re looking up toward the finish line, needing to get back in the race. And they need to do it fast. For their sake. For our sanity.