The Phoenix Suns enter another season with one point guard on the roster, Collin Gillespie, a converted two-way player from last season. So here comes another season of disjointed, unorganized possessions on the offensive end of the floor, right? Here comes another season where Devin Booker will not be maximized offensively, right?
But have we stopped to ask ourselves, does Booker want or need a point guard?
“I do. I enjoy it,” Booker said when asked if he enjoys dictating possessions. “I think it starts
with both of us (Booker and Jalen Green) with the ability to score. And once you become a threat, it’s going to open up easier opportunities for everybody else.”
Now, as Suns fans, we have been blessed to see some of the games’ best point guards play in Phoenix, including Kevin Johnson, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, and Chris Paul, to name a few. But if it is not one of those guys walking through the door, the ball should be in Booker’s and Green’s hands most of the time anyway, and not in the hands of a league-average point guard.
One of the reasons I believe Booker does not necessarily see the need for a point guard this season is that he wants to play a different style of basketball than what we have seen in Phoenix over the past few seasons.
“I think overall playing with a faster pace and getting up the court with what we call kick heads or skips. It doesn’t really matter,” Booker said.
Playing with a ball-dominant point guard usually means slowing the game down (think Jalen Brunson or Tre Young) and playing at a slower pace, which is the opposite of how Booker and Green want to play and a slow pace would hold back this team that has focused on becoming more athletic over the offseason. So, unless we can turn back time and take Tyrese Haliburton in the 2020 Draft, I do not think the Suns want to bring in a methodical, slow-paced point guard, especially one that gets targeted on defense.
“I think the way that we want to play and the play style that we’re trying to play like this year, that pace is gonna be the key to everything, and you know, playing fast and playing hard and getting out and running,” Green said.
If the Suns truly intend to play a faster, up-tempo pace like Booker and Green hinted at, it will require more than just him and Green to handle the ball and make those kick-ahead passes, and every player 1-4 will need to be comfortable making quick decisions with the ball in their hands. Playing a more frenetic style will not only help get Booker and Green easier opportunities in transition to score, but it should also help them play a faster pace in the half-court as well.
When Phoenix does have to play in the half-court, the ball will be in Booker’s and Green’s hands to create offense for themselves and for others. With more athletic lob threat centers than the last few seasons and Green’s explosiveness, Phoenix will put more pressure on the rim this season because of its athleticism. The athleticism that Green has to get to the rim specifically, will negate some of the need for a point guard because instead of manufacturing rim pressures through sets and organized offense, Green can start many offensive possessions by flying by his defender and putting the defense in rotations. And on the bright side, he has one of the best playmaking guards in Booker to learn from this season as well.
“I’m excited to play with Book. I think it’s going to be a good situation. I think I’m going to be able to learn a lot from him while at the same time, you know, adding what I could bring to the table,” Green said. “I think we’re going to complement each other a lot, especially, you know, with the system that [Jordan] Ott got us playing in. I think we’re going to play fast, and I think we’ll create a lot for each other and create for others. I’m very excited about it, and I think we’re going to shock a lot of people too.”
Another positive to not having to play a point guard 48 minutes is the defensive versatility it provides. Playing an undersized point guard often cripples NBA teams’ defenses, which Suns fans saw last season with Tyus Jones. The Suns’ projected starting lineup of Booker, Green, Ryan Dunn and media day favorite Dillon Brooks, the Suns have the most defensive versatility they’ve had on their roster since 2021 if Green and Booker both are locked in defensively.
The Suns are by no means a perfect roster right now, and one day may need to get an elite point guard to compete for championships again, but the Suns and Booker are perfectly fine to not have a point guard on the roster for the time being and are planning to play so fast that we will not even notice.
