The Phoenix Suns have a great opportunity to have a special season en route to an NBA Championship this year.
The one thing that is so exciting about the beginning of a new season is finally being able to see how the new players on new teams mesh with their new teammates. What will the chemistry be like? Will they be willing to share the ball and sacrifice personal stats for the good of the team?
And more importantly, how would they handle the criticism if things didn’t work out and weren’t going as planned? Would certain players demand a trade or would they try and work through the problem?
One of the hardest things in life to accomplish is winning a championship in professional sports and sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures as we have had the privilege of seeing superstars teamed up in order to accomplish that ultimate goal.
While this is an era where having so many stars on one team is frowned upon (unless it happens to be your favorite team) we have seen many of the collaborations result in championships and champagne showers and we have also seen many attempts but have failed to reach their potential.
There is one team that is entering the season and will have the rare opportunity to do something special. That team is the Phoenix Suns who now have three of the top five shooters the NBA has seen in the past decade.
The Phoenix Suns have a chance to make history
Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal will have the chance to rewrite history as they could challenge the 1982-83 Denver Nuggets trio of Alex English, Kiki Vandeweghe, and Dan Issel as the highest-scoring trio by average in NBA history.
While that may not seem like a recipe for success, especially considering the amount of trios that were deliberately put together to only fail to meet expectations. Not only does this team have a great chance at breaking that record but they also have what it takes to win the NBA title.
One main reason that this Suns team could achieve this record is because English, Vandeweghe, and Issel were not consistent shooters. None of them hardly ever attempted a 3-point shot and they played in an era where the 3-point shot wasn’t as popular as it is now.
The Suns have three stars who can score at all three levels and can dominate in isolation in one-on-one matchups. All three players know how to move the ball, know how to play off the ball, and all three of them can get their shot off in a phone booth. It will pretty much pick your poison for the Suns’ opponents as all three stars thrive in isolation.
Can the Phoenix Suns stay healthy?
Health will also play a huge factor when it comes to both winning and chasing this record. This is where new head coach Frank Vogel comes in. He will be responsible for figuring out which rotations he will use and who to play together while one or more of the stars go to the bench. He will have to manage minutes wisely as Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal all have missed stretches of games due to injuries in the past.
While Booker is only 26 and Beal is 29; the real concern should be focused on Durant who is 35. While he is still at the top of his game, we could see Durant limited in certain situations to ensure he isn’t lost to injury for any significant amount of time. There have been super teams that were decimated by injuries in the past so the Suns would be wise to monitor Durant’s usage.
Due to the fact that Durant is super efficient, he can get his numbers with 12 or 13 shot attempts and get 20-plus easily. In the event that there is a blowout, we could see the stars sit out the second half of some games.
The idea is to not have this team limping into the playoffs while hopefully cruising to a top seed in the West.
Will the Phoenix Suns be able to defend?
Outside of the Phoenix Suns’ Big 3, there are limited scoring threats on the roster. Eric Gordon should provide some scoring punch coming off the bench. He has a 16-points-per-game career average and will more than likely lead the Suns’ second unit. Gordon should prove his worth especially come playoff time as he has experienced many battles in the postseason.
We know that the Suns offense will be able to score in bunches but how will they fare when it’s time to defend and get stops when it matters most? Defense is mostly effort and attitude and the Suns have players who can get it done on the defensive end. Let’s start with Booker. As an above-average defender, Booker doesn’t back down from a challenge and will guard the opposing team’s top-scoring option if asked.
He has a bit of a mean streak and isn’t afraid to get in the face of his opponent. Booker did average 1.0 steals per game last season and the Suns should be able to count on him to give maximum effort his year. Durant’s defense has gotten better as his career has progressed. He uses his length well as he deters guards from driving into the lane and challenges jump shooters to try and shoot over him.
It won’t be a surprise to see Durant average around 1.5 blocks per game as he is good at also playing help defense around the paint. Josh Okogie is a defensive specialist and a player the Suns will depend on throughout the season and down the stretch. Okogie is always all over the floor and just gets after it. He is almost always in the right position defensively and always brings good energy and hustles non-stop.
If there is anything such as a clutch defender, then Okogie fits the definition. He is great at baiting players into turnovers and disguising angles and can jump passing lanes with ease. The Suns also signed 7-foot-2 center Bol Bol over the summer and the Suns can also use his lengthy wing span to help protect the paint.
As long as he puts up the effort, Bol could become one of the top shot blockers in the NBA. Bol also needs to bring a level of physicality and begin to establish his presence. Opposing players should be having second thoughts whenever Bol is in the game patrolling the paint.
Jusuf Nurkic was also acquired in the trade that sent Deandre Ayton to Portland. Nurkic is another high-energy guy who is not afraid to get physical and do the dirty work inside the paint. He is a rugged rim protector and averages 1.2 blocks per game in his career. If Okogie, Bol, and Nurkic can do the dirty work on the defensive end, it will take a lot of pressure off of the Big 3.
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.