This November couldn’t have started much better: three wins in four games, team chemistry finally kicking in, a defense growing stronger by the day…and most importantly, a (mostly) healthy roster for this
second matchup against the Clippers.
Let’s take a look at a few key plays from the game tonight at the Intuit Dome.
Offensive Breakdown
The Suns keep finding creative ways to start games, like this after-dead-ball set: Booker and Green cross paths to force the switch, then Devin uses Williams’ screen to get to his sweet spot. Defender on his back, perfect rhythm. The sound of that net was just chef’s kiss.
Booker finished the game 6-for-10 from midrange, but the Clippers did a solid job limiting his overall impact. His usage dropped to 27.9% and 28.8%, his only two games below 30% this season.
Then came a textbook transition. It starts with Booker reading the pass early. Not the toughest steal of his career, but enough to ignite the break. He pushes, slows down just a bit to read the floor, then swings it to Dunn. One extra pass to Green, who attacks and finds himself in a 2-on-1 with Williams against Zubac. Perfect read, perfect timing, easy dunk to finish it off.
Simple basketball, executed with patience and trust, exactly the kind of transition game Phoenix was missing at the start of the season.
Next up, one of my favorite plays: the DHO (dribble hand-off). Same action again between Dunn and Gillespie. Collin moves fast, fakes out two defenders — four of five Clippers end up packed inside the paint — and he still has the clarity to find Allen wide open in the opposite corner. The skip pass? Picture perfect.
And we wrap up the offensive side with some popcorn — nothing to break down, just a lob between Gillespie and Dunn to cap off their strong performances: 5 rebounds and 7 assists for Gillespie, 5 boards and 10 points for Dunn.
Defensive Breakdown
Jalen Green’s defensive impact will go underrated, but plays like this show how much he brings. Even when he’s late or beaten, he keeps sprinting, keeps chasing, and ends up contesting the shot at the rim.
He stays alert on the switch after the ghost screen, fights through traffic, recovers on the drive, and contests the layup. Honestly, what more could you ask for? The team defense as a whole was sharp too.
You can already see a clear improvement compared to the first matchup back in October — that time, the Clippers torched us for 140 points per 100 possessions and a 70% effective FG%. That was brutal, even if they were red-hot.
Last night, Phoenix held them to just 107.5 points per 100 and 50.6 eFG%. Sure, Harden and Kawhi weren’t playing, but it still raises the question: was this just opportunism, or the confirmation of a real positive trend that’s been building over the last 4-5 games?
Jalen’s energy is contagious, and this next clip is the proof. He never stops; stunting on the drive, recovering instantly, navigating screens, then flying out to contest the perimeter shot. That’s his whole identity in one possession: constant motion, loud impact, impossible to ignore.
Finally, this last defensive sequence sums up Jordan Ott’s defensive philosophy: controlled chaos. Aggressiveness, pressure, double-teams on the ball — the defense moves in perfect sync to force mistakes, and every closeout is timed just right.
Gillespie and Oso blitz the pick-and-roll, Booker abandons his man to rotate and protect the paint, and Goodwin — with his insane defensive volume — covers nearly a third of the floor to contest a long-range shot off a skip pass.
This game perfectly captures the Suns’ identity right now: creative offense, patient transitions, clean execution — paired with a defense that’s intense, coordinated, and still a bit wild around the edges.
The team is starting to generate advantages from any situation. The relentless effort from guys like Jalen Green, Ryan Dunn, and Devin Booker reflects a clear philosophy built on aggressiveness, communication, and overload principles — keys to forcing turnovers and securing the most valuable possessions.
Phoenix finally seems to be finding its rhythm: a solid collective, individuals stepping up, and a defense beginning to leave its mark. We’re only nine games in, but this new identity is starting to take shape. Why not seal this third matchup against the Clippers and get back to .500?
