Will sacrifices need to be made by the Phoenix Suns?
The Phoenix Suns Big 3 of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal complement one another due to the fact that each player brings his own individual style of play. With all three of them on the floor together, there should be plenty of spacing as opponents not only have to respect their shot but have to stop them from getting to the rim and possibly keep them off the foul line as well.
Booker will more than likely move into more of a playmaker role as he will probably be the starting point guard. His versatility will be on full display as Booker is very capable of facilitating and creating his own shot. All three players averaged at least five assists last season so we know that none of them have an issue sharing the ball. We can look back when teams had a Big 3 when one of them had to sacrifice in order for them to have success.
Chris Bosh is one example of how sacrifice helped that team win a title. The season before Bosh went to the Heat he put 24 points per game for the Raptors while averaging 18.7 in his first season in Miami. Knowing he would be joining Dwayne Wade and LeBron James he willingly took a back seat but he was there whenever they needed him to come through.
Bosh could have gone anywhere else and been the man but he sacrificed willingly and won two titles because of it. Another example is Kevin Love when he signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He went from being a starter to the 6th man on a championship team. All they asked Love to do was knock down spot-up three-pointers and help on the boards and he was able to help deliver the Cavs first title.
Durant’s scoring average took a slight dip when he joined the Warriors, but at the end of the day, he is still one of the best isolation players in the game and can fill it up when he gets ready. Beal was once a 30-point-a-game scorer but his scoring averages dipped over the past few seasons due to injuries and playing on a struggling team.
Beal should find it easy to get buckets because he doesn’t have to worry about carrying a team on his own. He has plenty of help now and he should have the luxury of taking advantage of the many defensive mismatches he should encounter.