Jusuf Nurkić and Grayson Allen are not the problem

How Nurkić and Allen have exceeded expectations.

As the Phoenix Suns 2023-24 regular season nears its close, the season has panned out differently from how many envisioned it going for the Valley. Before the year, it appeared the main concern about the team from many was the supporting cast around Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, and Kevin Durant.

Through their consistent play, Grayson Allen and Jusuf Nurkić have helped establish that the Suns’ starting lineup is a complete unit of players, not just three A-list actors with replaceable cast members.

Many people did not support the Suns’ decision to get involved in the Damian Lillard trade that sent away Deandre Ayton and, in return, got them Nurkić and Allen; one of the biggest skeptics was Bill Simmons.

Nurkić has been a steady contributor to the Valley and a big-time rebounder. Earlier this month, he grabbed 31 rebounds, the most in a game since 2010. It is a casual occurrence to look at the box score at the end of the game and see that the big man has had at least 20 rebounds.

Deandre Ayton has five career 20+ rebound games, Nurkić has five this season and four in the last month.

The 29-year-old has helped the Suns offense stay dynamic. He’s averaging a career-high in assists per game. The team’s offensive rating is 10.2 points, 3.5% from the field, and 2.9% better from three when he is on the court.

The Bosnian native has been a great teammate, standing up for his squad on and off the court and showing them love in any way he can. Nurkić has felt like he’s always been a great teammate; it just took a larger market for more people to notice.

Sure, there are times when the pace of a game is too fast to keep him on the court; most notably, he was on the bench when the Suns came back from down 22 in the fourth quarter to beat the Kings in January, and Durant played center. But he never pouts, which is why he has become vital to any chances the Suns have against teams in the West like the Nuggets and Timberwolves, who possess massive size.

Grayson Allen has flat-out been better than advertised. He went from a great shooter to leading the league in three-point percentage on almost six attempts per game. Playing more than 90% of the teams’ games this year, he’s been able to contribute in whatever way the team needs him to when others have been out of the lineup.

Of late, the Duke product has been on an offensive heater. Allen has made five more threes than any other player in their last seven games and has four 20-point games in that span. Allen is averaging a career-high in points per game and has given the team another offensive creator. In Sunday’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, where Kevin Durant just scored just 11 points on ten shots, Allen’s shot-making and shot-creation helped the Valley have a chance down the stretch to come back from down 25.

According to reports, in the offseason, the Suns and Blazers had appeared to agree to trade Nurkić for Ayton as a part of a Damian Lillard trade. The Blazers promised the Suns a mystery player, who turned out to be Allen. It’s safe to say that the Suns should be happy with who that mystery player was.

The Suns have many problems. The team’s best players have struggled to stay healthy, which has impeded them from consistently playing like a cohesive trio. The team does not give similar defensive performances from game to game as, at times, it appears they are allergic to guarding three-point shooters. One thing that is not a problem is the production that Grayson Allen and Jusuf Nurkić have provided. Both have had more than solid years and have helped make the team more well-rounded.