Nearly a month into the season, and while twenty games is usually the point where we know who a team really is, four weeks of Phoenix Suns basketball have given us a pretty strong picture. This is a team that
deals with injuries like everyone else in the league. They have missed key players here and there. Even with that, week four taught us something clear. This is a team that beats the bad teams, and this is a team that competes with the good teams.
It might not sound life-altering, but right now it is the cleanest way to describe them. And it is a solid summation. That is all you can ask for from a group that opened the season with expectations sitting at 30.5 wins.
I keep coming back to that number because it reminds us of the perception around this team before opening night. It is the baseline they were handed. And the fact remains that this group was expected to be far less competitive than they are. Yet here they are. In the mix. Night after night.
Sure, we are coming off a gut-punch of a loss. A game where they allowed 47 points in the fourth quarter. That was the Sunday night matinee. But when you pull back and look at the week as a whole, Week 4 showed a team that fights.
The first quarter feels like the first couple of rounds in a boxing match. They feel out the opponent, throw a few jabs, test the offense, test the defense. Then the haymakers start landing. Those long runs. That sudden onslaught of scoring that hits from every angle. Pow, Collin Gillespie three. Bam, Dillon Brooks and-one. They keep swinging. They stay in the ring. And that is the first step toward becoming a winning basketball team.
And they are stacking wins along the way. Sure, it is against lighter competition, but they are still handling those teams. And I think we find ourselves each night thinking back to the past few seasons. Those teams would throw a couple of punches, take one in return, crumble to the mat, and never get back up.
This team keeps getting up. Every time.
Week 4 Record: 3-1
vs. New Orleans Pelicans, W, 121-98
- Possession Differential: +1.2
- Turnover Differential: -1
- Offensive Rebounding Differential: -5
The Suns walked into a trap game against a banged-up Pelicans squad and, for once, didn’t trip over the rope. The start was clunky — rims tight, rhythm shaky — but the looks were clean, the pace patient, and once the shots finally cooperated, Phoenix flipped the whole thing on its head.
What followed was a calm, methodical dismantling, the kind of grown-up win last year’s team absolutely would’ve fumbled. No drama, no wobble, just a mature squad taking care of business like it actually enjoys being the favorite now.
@ Dallas Mavericks, W, 123-114
- Possession Differential: +1.0
- Turnover Differential: -7
- Offensive Rebounding Differential: +5
The Suns’ win over Dallas felt like a regional jet from Chicago to Palm Springs: rattling takeoff, smooth cruising, then a descent that made you grip the armrests and reconsider your life choices.
Phoenix dug out of an early 10-point hole with a 12–0 burst, controlled the middle quarters, then watched a 16-point lead shrink to three late. But they landed it. No drink spills, no emergency slides. Just a hard-earned, evolution-point win that showed this team can ride out turbulence and still walk off into the desert air smiling.
vs. Indiana Pacers, W, 133-98
- Possession Differential: +1.1
- Turnover Differential: -1
- Offensive Rebounding Differential: -6
The Pacers showed up looking like they needed a nap and a chiropractor, and for a quarter they actually tried to muscle their way through it. But once the Suns cranked up the energy, the whole thing tilted like a barstool on two legs.
By the fourth, The Morg turned into a full-blown riot of joy. It was chaos, noise, and all vibes. I even ditched the media brain and screamed like a civilian. Yeah, Indiana was banged up, but good teams bury bad breaks, and the Suns did exactly that.
vs. Atlanta Hawks, L, 124-122
- Possession Differential: +2.8
- Turnover Differential: 0
- Offensive Rebounding Differential: +7
What can I say other than, “Ouch.”?
Inside the Possession Game
- Weekly Possession Differential: +6.1
- Weekly Turnover Differential: -9
- Offensive Rebounding Differential: +1
- Year-to-Date Over/Under .500: +2
3–1 is where most people had the Suns landing this week, and most people nailed it. You can see what happens when the team finds extra possessions. It starts to turn into wins.
Sure, the competition was lighter, and the only team they faced that sat above .500 is the same team they coughed up a 22-point fourth quarter lead against (still stings a bit). So when you stack the numbers, there are layers here. There is no one-size-fits-all. There is no single stat that guarantees a win or predicts a loss.
If the goal is to create more possessions each week, you can see the Suns holding their own in that fight, and the toughness and tenacity they keep talking about is continuing to show up on the floor.
Week 5 Preview
Week 5 is where things start to get interesting for Phoenix. The next couple of weeks will tell us plenty.
They open on Tuesday in Portland for their first game on NBC. I do not know if you have caught a broadcast on NBC this season, but it is beautiful. They have done a stellar job since jumping back into basketball coverage. Hearing ‘Roundball Rock’ sure sparks the nostalgia in us old folks.
This will be our first look at the Suns on that network. Yay! But let no good deed go unpunished. The start time? 9:00pm in Arizona. Are you kidding me? I used to complain about eight o’clock starts. 9:00pm feels like a punishment. I will be up until 1 in the morning writing about this team. It is going to wreck my entire week. Oh well, go Suns.
After that, they begin a three-game home stand, with two of those games landing in Week 5.
On Friday, they host the Minnesota Timberwolves, who sit at 8–5. Maybe Anthony Edwards will not get his energy up for Phoenix now that Kevin Durant is no longer here. When Durant was in the building, Edwards always circled those games. Then on Sunday, the Suns take on the San Antonio Spurs. Yes, Wemby is back in town. It will be interesting to see how San Antonio adjusts to what the Suns pulled off against him the last time he visited. They are sitting in the fifth spot with a 9–4 record.
So the competition is rising. Entering Week 5, the combined winning percentage of their opponents is .590. We are going to learn a lot about this group over the next few weeks.
So how do you see Week 5 playing out? Let us know in the poll (and comments) below.
