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: Devin Booker’s three-point percentage is currently at 30.1%. What are your thoughts on this?
Ashton: It is concerning, but I would rather take Facilitator Book (AKA Olympic Book) over “Hero Book”. And Booker is still the best member on the team. And keep in mind that if we ever get the sharpshooters off the bench in Allen and Green, those percentage numbers may actually go down.
The Suns have identified themselves as a team-friendly culture that shares the ball and can beat you in the post or downtown. Try to double-team Book, and there are more players waiting on the perimeter (looking at you, CG).
OldAz: A lot of fans get really uptight about this, but Book is simply not the shooter that players like Dame or Steph are. Instead, he is a more well-rounded scorer who is getting better and better as a playmaker.
I don’t get hung up on his three-point percentage unless he is simply forcing them in a game where they are not going. Instead, I am more interested in seeing Book make the right play to help the team win. This comes in wide different varieties that sometimes include hitting a clutch three, or a three to change momentum, but more often involves him taking over and drawing fouls as he did in game 1 against the Pelicans, getting hot and scoring from the midrange, or making the right pass to Williams or Gillespie when appropriate.
I am so impressed by Booker’s leadership and maturity this year that it is translating to wins rather than gaudy stats. Based on this, I just don’t want to get baited into a discussion focused only on one narrow part of his game.
Rod: It worries me a bit, but not too much. He’s always been a bit streaky shooting from three, and right now he’s been on a cold streak…although this has been a pretty long one. In the first 9 games of this season, he shot 41.3% from three, and I expect him to eventually start hitting them again and bring his average back up to at least near his career average of 35.2%. I can live with that.
With so many good three-point shooters on this team, I’m glad that he’s not forcing it, though. His average attempts per game is 5.6, the 4th lowest in his 11 seasons.
Q2: Rookie Rasheer Fleming has gotten some meaningful minutes in the last few games. What is your opinion of his play in those games?
Ashton: He is coming along, and I think the G League has been good for him. I still think he is a development project, but he is coming along nicely. Goodwin speaks highly of him, so that is something.
For me, the jury is still out on his ceiling, but he’s in the right place and team to develop.
OldAz: I am super disappointed that he did not get any run against the Cavaliers. I feel like he showed enough in those 3 games to know that he needs more minutes at the NBA level. He is not going to be perfect, but he is long and active and competes. He needs to know that mistakes are part of the process, and as long as he hustles, he should be getting 5-10 meaningful minutes a game for a while to help with his development. Disappointing that he did not get that chance in Cleveland, but hopefully, he will be back out there in the upcoming games.
Rod: He’s looked a lot more comfortable out there than what I’d seen from him early on, which is a good sign. I like what I’ve seen, especially on the defensive side. He still has a lot of improvement to make on offense, but he doesn’t look lost or intimidated out there. He’s still not ready to be slotted into the top end of the player rotation, but I think he’s ready to be given meaningful minutes in certain situations. I still want to see him getting playing time in the G League, though. The more game time reps he gets, the better, no matter which court he’s playing on.
Q3: Grayson Allen has been healthy for only 18 of the Suns’ 32 games (56.3%) this season. What are your thoughts on his injury issues this season?
Ashton: This is just something that just chaps my hide.
First, it is a right knee contusion. Then it is right knee management. This is not so much a lambasting of Grayson Allen, but of the injury reporting system itself.
Injury reports were supposed to tighten up during all the NBA gambling scandals of 2025. Instead, it seems like there are new and creative ways to describe injuries while not disclosing the extent of them. Look, I get the fact that their some day-to-day game management going on, like will you player X or not? But, at some point, a little honesty will go a long way with this fan.
Just report an accurate timeline return of the player based on injury severity. Otherwise, I think the optics of individual teams and the NBA looks stupid. And if you start to lose the fans’ trust, you may lose the fans.
With that, Happy 2026 everyone!
OldAz: I am looking more at the bigger trend with the Suns to really be cautious and slow in bringing people back from injury this year. Considering how deep Coach Ott has played the bench, having players miss time has been a benefit in keeping more players fresh and engaged. However, when there are games where Allen’s presence or shooting would certainly have helped turn the tide, this can be excruciating for fans.
This is where we are with Allen, and would be with Green if we had gotten more than 5 quarters to see how beneficial he can be to the team. We just have to remember that, as of now, the Suns are a playoff-contending team that has shown they can compete in the Western Conference, so having everyone healthy come playoff time is far more important than availability in January.
Rod: I like having Grayson on the roster, but not on the sideline in street clothes. He only missed 18 games all of last season, and now it looks like he’s going to miss more than that before we get to the halfway point of 2025/26. Perhaps the increase in minutes this season (31.1 minutes per game this season vs 24.1 MPG last season) has something to do with it, but I’m beginning to see him (and the $37.5 mil over the next two years of his contract) as a possible trade asset rather than a long-term piece of the Suns’ puzzle.
He’s a really good player and a great shooter, but that isn’t doing the team much good if he isn’t on the court. Hopefully, he will get healthy soon and stay healthy for most of the rest of the season because the Suns can’t afford to keep that much money tied up in a player who can’t stay on the floor (again).
As always, many thanks to our Fantable members for all their extra effort this week!
Quotes of the Week
“Just like an overall floor general. His control of the whole game…He’s just in a good spot. He’s, obviously getting better I feel like game by game.” – Jordan Ott on Collin Gillespie
“We all feed off each other’s energy and give each other confidence. If it’s not somebody’s night, we’re picking each other up. Those are all characteristics of a good team.” – Devin Booker
“We’re just taking advantage of what the defense gives us. We have guys creating closeouts for everybody, moving the ball, and guys taking the shots and being confident. We got a lot of trust in each other to keep shooting it and we’re knocking them down at a hot clip.” – Royce O’Neale on the recent shooting between him and Collin Gillespie
“I believe in the process and good things take time to happen. It’s been great for me. I’ve been getting better each and every game I play in the G League” – Khaman Maluach
Suns Trivia/History
Collin Gillespie is leading the NBA on catch & shoot 3’s with a league-high of 53.3%.
The Suns are 6th in the NBA in Home Defensive Field Goal Percentage at 45.5%.
On January 2, 2001, Tony Delk, a 6’1″ NBA journeyman PG/SG scored a career high 53 points for the Suns in a 121-117 loss to the Sacramento Kings. Delk’s previous game high was 26 points in a loss for Golden State in 1998. Delk played 10 seasons in the NBA for 8 different teams with a career scoring average of 9.1 ppg. One year later, Delk was traded to the Boston Celtics as part of the trade package that brought Joe Johnson to Phoenix.
On January 5, 1997, during a 109-102 loss at the Boston Celtics, an angry Robert Horry threw a towel at head coach Danny Ainge. Ainge said it was “no big deal” but team owner Jerry Colangelo was not satisfied with just the two game suspension that the league and Player’s Association allowed. It would be Horry’s final game as a Sun as he was traded shortly afterward.
This Week’s Game Schedule
Friday, Jan 2 – Suns vs Sacramento Kings (7:00 pm)
Sunday, Jan 4 – Suns vs Oklahoma City Thunder (6:00 pm)
Monday, Jan 5 – Suns @ Houston Rockets (6:00 pm)
Wednesday, Jan 7 – Suns @ Memphis Grizzlies (6:00 pm)
This Week’s Valley Suns Game Schedule
Saturday, Jan 3 – Valley Suns @ Rio Grande Valley Vipers (6:00 pm)
Tuesday, Jan 6 – Valley Suns vs Oklahoma City Blue (7:00 pm) ESPN+
Wednesday, Jan 7 – Valley Suns vs Oklahoma City Blue (7:00 pm) ESPN+
Important Future Dates
Jan. 5 – 10-day contracts may now be signed
Jan. 10 – All NBA contracts are guaranteed for the remainder of the season
Feb. 5 – Trade deadline (3:00 pm ET)
Feb. 13-15 – 2026 NBA All-Star weekend in Los Angeles, CA
March 1 – Playoff eligibility waiver deadline
March 28 – NBA G League Regular Season ends
March 31 – 2026 NBA G League Playoffs begin
April 12 – Regular season ends (All 30 teams play)
April 13 – Rosters set for NBA Playoffs 2026 (3 p.m. ET)
April 14-17 – SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament
April 18 – NBA Playoffs begin
