Welcome to Inside the Suns, your weekly deep down analysis of the current Phoenix Suns team. Each week the Fantable – a round table of Bright Siders – give their takes on the Suns’ latest issues and news.
Fantable Questions of the Week
Q1: Jordan Ott’s continuing reliance on “small-ball” lineups isn’t popular among many fans. What’s your opinion of them and your best guess as to why he continues to use them?
GuarGuar: I think there’s a is a time and place for small ball lineups, however, we have been running them way too much vs teams where it’s not so beneficial. I like Ott’s willingness to try unconventional things, but we can’t run small ball for 20 minutes in a game where our season is on the line.
I think he really likes what the small ball does offensively and is willing to concede on defense.
Diamondhacks: Based on the record, I respect Ott’s judgment and unconventional lineups more than his actual roster. If you’d told his internet critics beforehand that our four primary expected drivers of success (Booker, Brooks, Green, MW) would miss 109 combined games, I suspect most of them would’ve penciled us in for twenty-something wins.
Instead, this clueless rookie coach (who probably doesn’t even WATCH the games or CARE!!!) has cobbled together a surprising WC play-in berth from a roster of castoffs that is – when healthy – ostensibly “led” by three of the NBA’s more polarizing, overrated “stars”, apparently competing for the league’s highest USG%, most techs…and likely not much else.
In “short”, no coach is infallible, but based on everyone’s respective track records, this coach looks to me demonstrably less flawed than his top players or most fan expectations.
Ashton: Coach Ott is screwing up. Multiple articles and poster comments have pointed out the fact that he is trying to shrink the roster to the best 8 players. And they are all small (6’ 5” – larger than me). This is not a working formula.
He really should zag when others zig, or whatever. Play the bench and set up for next season.
But this is why you wait until the last minute to write something up. KM looked good against tanking Dallas last night. And congrats to the Suns for getting home court advantage.
OldAz: I have been pretty vocal lately about my distaste for the recent lineups and the freezing out of the younger players. I think Ott truly believes that to win in the playoffs, you have to shorten rotations. This is not about playing fewer players as much as the starters playing more minutes, leaving less to go around, so you shorten the bench to keep them in rhythm. This is why I think Ott has been going down that path and keeps talking about shortening the bench.
However, if players like GA, RO, and Gillespie are just going to be the 4th and 5th players on the floor and not be involved on either end, then what does it matter what type of rhythm they are in? I also reject the premise that the starters should, by default, increase their minutes in the playoffs. How often have we seen worn-out starters falter down the stretch, or the same exact players playing every minute of multiple OTs?
It seems to me that playing 10-11 deep keeps your starters fresher in those late game situations and can help wear out the other teams starters (who are playing more minutes) when you do what the Suns have done all year by playing deep and putting youth and energy on the floor when the other teams starters are starting to get heavy legs and need a rest. Early in the season, this was players like Livers, Dunn, Gillespie, and Goodwin were eating minutes. Now KM and Fleming are available in place of Livers and Richards. Playing deep also allows the starters to expend more energy when playing because they know they don’t have to pace themselves to play 40 minutes. This is especially true of the center rotation. I just have never liked the idea of changing what works for your team, just because that’s the way everyone else has always done it.
Rod: I would like to see him move away from playing so much small-ball but, to me, how he structures his lineups and player rotation are signs of who he places the most trust in. Trust is certainly important, but sometimes you also need to take a leap of faith to progress past a certain point and I think it’s already gotten past that point for Ott.
But, better late than never, as they say, so running out bigger lineups at this point is doubtful to have a significant negative effect and may just give the team the boost it needs in the postseason. Seriously, for the Suns to do anything significant in the post-season playing small-ball, it’s going to take everyone playing a near-perfect game, every night…and that’s something that I have trust in. I’ve seen it happen in stretches but it’s always been inconsistent and not something we can count on.
With the 7th spot already locked up, why not at least give some bigger lineups some significant playing time in at least the last two regular-season games? It’s not like running out the same-old, same-old in the last two is really going to significantly improve how well they’ve been playing before the post-season begins.
Q2: The Suns have definitely outperformed expectations this year. Do you think they could continue to improve next season without making any major changes this offseason?
GuarGuar: I definitely think we can improve if we keep things the same next season. We were not healthy for the majority of this season. Positive regression there and then development from our young guys, and I can see us getting close to surpassing 50 wins. This is a talented core.
Diamondhacks: Further improvements possible, but I think it’ll be nearly impossible to ambush the nba the way Ott’s crew did this fall. Every opponent understands who Goodwin and Gillespie are now. Plus, it’s harder to improve on 43 wins than on 36.
Oso’s made wonderful strides and needs to continue his positive trajectory. Fleming and Maluach are coming along just fine. Dunn has improved. Green (who’s barely played) and Williams (who’s played more than he has in his life) are big talents with even bigger question marks. Everyone else is on the wrong side of the aging curve, however, so assuming an identical roster, I’d probably take the under on 43 wins.
Ashton: Ah, the halcyon days of looking at a potential 50-win Suns team this season. It is not even summer, and I am souring on this team quicker than yogurt on hot pavement. Don’t eat it. It appears that my positive expectations are now in that yogurt. But if you all want to eat a yogurt tide pod and TikTok it, have at it. I will take you to the emergency room.
So, I think all options need to be considered. I really do not want Giannis, and the cost will be high. But he wants a place that appreciates him. Is that place Phoenix? KD stated he liked living there while blowing shade the entire time.
And that would require a major change. JV put out a great article on the actual cost of doing this for Giannis. But I would float everyone, including untouchable Booker, for returns. The last two months have been abysmal for the Suns. I have been in the slow rebuilding domain philosophy for a while. And I am disgusted with how the season will end. And there will be no continuity in rotation as rest minutes await over the next two games. And injury minutes.
OldAz: Depending on your definition of “major changes”, certainly they can improve. With the late-season emergence of KM and Fleming, this is not hard to envision. The Suns could offload RO, trade GA or at least relegate him to a backup guard role and play a whole lot more balanced lineups for a lot more minutes. Brooks with Dunn and Williams, followed by Fleming, KM, and Oso keep size on the court across the entire front line and allow them to mix and match 4-5 guards in the 2 remaining spots (Book, Green, Gillespie, Goodwin, and possibly Allen).
The key is letting the young players develop and grow into those minutes and figuring out how to play Oso as a PF on defense but as a facilitator on offense. I would love to see them try Green with Oso surrounded by GA/Goody, Fleming, and KM as a bench unit. The size is crazy, as is the athleticism, and there is enough scoring around Oso (assuming good ball movement) to keep him on the floor. It is fun to think about continued improvement when there are a few young players on the roster who could be part of the core, and both Williams and Green are still young, in addition to KM, Dunn, and Fleming.
Rod: I’m not saying that they shouldn’t make any major changes (like trading Book, Green, Brooks, etc.), but rather that I don’t think that they need to do so to actually continue to improve. Sure, it’s possible that making a big trade might turn into a home run, but it’s just as likely to be a step or two backward, which won’t really help, as the Suns don’t control their own draft picks over the next few years.
All in all, I think this team has the potential to be much better next season with only moderate modifications. Change will come this offseason. I don’t think it’s really in the team’s best interest to try and run it back with all the same players but there should some good opportunities to take a step or two forward without resorting to doing anything drastic.
Q3: The Suns will have just one 2nd round pick in this year’s draft (currently 48th). As they’ve been successful in trading up in previous drafts, do you believe they should attempt to do so in this year’s draft or just draft the best player available at 48?
GuarGuar: I definitely would do what we’ve been doing with our 2nd round picks these past couple years because they’ve been big successes. It’s very rare to hit on 2nd rounders the way we have these past couple of years. Take the best player available and keep going.
Diamondhacks: I don’t follow the draft or think about trades much. However, current staff appear to develop youngsters well, and previous Ishbia-era fears of squandering Booker’s prime ultimately set back the franchise. So, I might target a younger ‘project’ type who could make an impact in 2-4 years. Let the pros identify who and where that is.
Ashton: Hah, Rod has put out a question to the Fantable that requires following college basketball teams and mock draft boards. Those mock draft boards are about as fluid as they get, other than the top three picks. I think they are idiotic And I think the top three are idiotic as well.
But the Suns do not have a chance at a top-five pick outside of some gangbusters trade. So, what to do with the 48th pick? Or in that range…
With the 48th pick, the Suns select Size. John Smith Size, an unknown out of DIII school. Okay, I am just having fun now. JJ is not around anymore. Also, check out Brynne’s articles. Another shout-out to JV for linking.
The reality is that a loaded 2026 draft will contain a lot of seniors who ran out of eligibility. I really do not care what the Suns do with the 48th pick, but they need BPA at any position, and there are plenty of upperclassmen to compensate.
I say they keep the pick and see which players falls into the undrafted prospects. That is where FO needs their heads on a swivel.
OldAz: I’m never good at draft questions, but Gregory has earned my trust after the last 2 seasons. I know a lot of folks are mixed on Oso and Dunn, but considering the crapshoot that is the NBA draft, getting 4 players the last 2 drafts who can contribute minutes and still have growth potential is fairly impressive, especially considering where some of those were drafted. Whatever BG wants to do in the draft is fine by me.
Rod: This is certainly one of those “it depends…” questions to me. If they can use the pick in a trade that actually helps the team out now, I wouldn’t mind them completely trading out of this year’s draft. Of course, if there’s a player that Gregory likes that could be available at that spot, they could do nothing and just draft that guy when the time comes. My main hope is that the front office remains flexible and explores all of their options before deciding on which path to take.
As always, many thanks to our Fantable members for all their extra effort this week!
Quotes of the Week
“The defense is the main thing. Getting stops and being able to get out and run is deflating to the other team. That’s what keeps growing the lead through those four quarters.” – Jalen Green
“I mean, it always feels good to get a block, especially on a dunk. I mean, but it felt extra good because it was him (Cooper Flagg). Before the game, he was like, ‘I’m going to dunk on you,’ and I was like, ‘I’ll try to block it.’” – Khaman Maluach
“I’m super proud of him (Maluach). I think this is a starting point for him that we’ll look down years down the line and be like we knew that kid had it from the beginning.” – Devin Booker
“We’re excited for Tuesday night (the play-in game) because we know our group will show up.” – Jordan Ott
Suns Trivia/History
On April 10, 2018, in a meaningless end of the season game against Dallas, little used Suns rookie Alec Peters (54th pick in the draft) scored a career high 36 points and pulled down 9 rebounds to lead all scorers in a 124-97 Suns win over the Mavericks. Peters played in only 20 games that season which was to be both his first and last in the NBA. Although his NBA career was short, Peters went overseas to play the following season and is still playing today as a member of Olympiacos in Greece where he led the league in 3-point percentage in 2023-24 and 2024-25.
On April 15, 1989, Phoenix retired the No. 44 jersey of Paul Westphal, who averaged 20.6 points, 5.2 assists, and 1.6 steals in his six seasons with the Suns. Westphal was one of the Suns’ key players in their “Sunderella Season” run to their first NBA Finals appearance in 1976. After retiring from playing in 1984, he turned to coaching and eventually became the team’s head coach for the 1992-93 season. That year, he led the team to their 2nd NBA Finals appearance, this time against the Chicago Bulls. In 2019, he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
On April 17, 1989, the Suns defeated the Sacramento Kings 140-85 in Phoenix. The 55-point margin of victory is the largest in team history. The Suns jumped out to a 35-17 lead at the end of the 1st quarter, which they stretched to 78-38 at halftime. Eddie Johnson led the Suns in scoring with 24 points off the bench, and five other Suns scored in double figures. 32 of the Suns’ points were scored at the free throw line, where they were 32 of 41.
On April 19, 2016, despite only a 9-24 run as interim head coach following the firing of Jeff Hornacek, GM Ryan McDonough inexplicably took the interim tag off 36-year-old Earl Watson (making him the NBA’s youngest HC) and gave him the full-time position for 2016-17 by signing him to a 3-year contract extension.
This Week’s Game Schedule
Friday April 10 – Suns @ LA Lakers (7:30 pm)
Sunday, April 12 – Suns @ OKC Thunder (5:30 pm)
Tuesday, April 14 – Suns vs TBD (7:00 pm) Prime Video
Important Future Dates
April 12 – Regular season ends (All 30 teams play)
April 13 – Rosters set for NBA Playoffs (3 pm ET)
April 14-17 – SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament
April 18 – NBA Playoffs begin
