The Phoenix Suns are now 6-5 and 8th in the Western Conference. (Technically, they are tied for 7th, but losing to Golden State, who their tied with, moves them to 8th) The main reason? Devin Booker and Phoenix’s
three-point success this season. Yes, I am fully aware it is too early to look at playoff seeding, but given the Suns’ 1-4 start, I am fully enjoying the ups on this roller coaster ride.
Right now, 11 games into the Phoenix Suns are second in the NBA in three-point makes per game at 16.5 on 38.5% shooting. The Suns have attempted 42.7 three-point shots this season, which is fourth in the NBA behind the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, and New York Knicks. Good teams in the NBA take and make a lot of threes every single game, and head coach Jordan Ott has the Suns firing away from long distance this year.
The most eye-opening example of the Suns’ three-point success was against a previously undefeated San Antonio Spurs team that was number one in scoring defense at the time (now fifth); the Suns diced up the Spurs defense for 130 points on 19-of-33 from three.
The Suns are shooting the basketball at an elite level right now, and the bright side is, it should not be going away anytime soon because of the looks they are generating. Here are three reasons why they are generating so many open three-point shots.
Devin Booker’s brilliance
Devin Booker took back complete control of this franchise and has put up career numbers throughout the first 11 games of the season: 28.4 points, 50.7% from the field, 39.7% from 3, and 6.8 assists per game. Booker’s confidence this season to hunt for three-point shots within the offense has been essential to his success. Whether coming off of ball screens and pulling up, or running off of off-ball screens/movement, his commitment to taking and making threes this season has helped his own game explode early on.
Not only has his shooting improved this season, but so has his playmaking against double teams.
When Booker has been double-teamed this season, he gets off the ball quicker, and the Suns have a plan to beat defenses after he gets rid of it. It might not show up in the stat sheet as traditional assists; however, Booker is second in the NBA in secondary assists and is fourth in the NBA behind Nikola Jokic, Cade Cunningham, and Luka Doncic in potential assists at 15.7 per game.
That is great company for Booker to be in, and the guys around him are hitting shots.
Another area that has started to grow in the Suns’ offense is Booker as a screener for Collin Gillespie, Jalen Green, and Grayson Allen to help create better looks for them with his gravity, and get him better mismatches as well.
Should Booker continue to torch teams this way for the rest of the season, he will be an All-NBA Player at season’s end, and hopefully, finally get the respect he deserves.
Jordan Ott’s offense is simple
To make sure I knew what I was talking about, I went back and rewatched every Phoenix Suns made three this season. Here’s what stood out: the Suns are not afraid to let it fly, specifically Collin Gillespie (38.9%), Grayson Allen (44.7%), and Royce O’Neal (44%).
These Suns have the ultra green light to shoot whenever they want. When these players know they’re going to attempt a combined 24 threes a game, they come into every game in rhythm and with the confidence to be aggressive.
The reason they can be so aggressive is that they know exactly where the shots are going to come from.
The easiest and most effective way the Suns are getting threes up is in transition. When any Suns shooter has the ball in transition and they get an easy pull-up three or push-ahead pass, the ball is going up. That is just the Suns playing hard and running the floor to get easy opportunities, which have paid off during their 5-1 stretch.
Another simple way Phoenix’s role players know they are going to get the ball is off Booker’s gravity.
When he has it rolling, teams are selling out to stop him, and Allen and O’Neale are the main beneficiaries. When Booker drives, even strong side defenders are digging hard off of Allen and O’Neale, and those teams are getting burned.
In the pick-and-roll, teams have to respect Booker and Williams’ two-man game, and the Suns are spraying it out to shooters. Even Williams has shown this season he can short roll and spray to three-point shooters as well.
One action we will see a ton this season is when any Suns guard runs an empty corner ball screen and Phoenix overloads the weak side of the floor. The Suns perfectly back cut or set pin downs for shooters in the corner to create the perfect spacing to get up threes.
One particular difference in the Suns’ offense this year is that when players come off ball screens or drives towards the basket, the Suns are sending the guy in the corner towards the basket. The player on the wing then flattens out to the corner for what should be an easy look for a 3 in the corner.
In the play above, Dunn has a wide-open shot in the corner that he should take normally, but he also sees two Clippers defenders charging out at him. He decides to wait, and he finds O’Neal for another open three.
Effort and Movement
The last and most important key to the Suns’ three-point shooting success is their effort and movement. The Suns never stop moving the ball or bodies, except for when Booker is in isolation mode. They continually chase after offensive rebounds that lead to wide-open threes and hard closeouts. They do the hard things, like cut from corner to corner, when it could be easier to stay stationary. They run the floor harder than other teams to create wide-open looks with their effort. They are always looking to make the extra pass quickly to find a more open shooter than themselves.
This is why Allen and O’Neale have combined to make more threes this season than any other duo in the NBA. This team is connected offensively and makes it fun to watch this team every night.
This Suns team moves, and moves the ball.
Now you are probably asking yourself, ‘Will there be stretches this season where the Suns go cold from three?’
Undoubtedly. Grayson Allen will not make 10 threes a game very often, and the Suns’ offense outside of its three-point shooting has a long way to go, as well as this team’s defense. But a good three-point shooting team can cover up a lot of other weaknesses.
The good news is, we are only 11 games into the season, and we are seeing the Suns lay a foundation of who they want to be going forward. The effort, movement, and buy-in on Ott’s system are the foundations of a team that can be good and, almost as important, fun to watch.
One symptom of a good, fun team is a team that can generate great looks from three, and this Suns team is doing that.
