Welcome to Inside the Suns, a deep-dive analysis of the current Phoenix Suns team in which the Fantable — a roundtable of Bright Siders — give their takes on the Suns’ latest issues and news.
Fantable Questions of the Week
Q1: How long are you willing to wait (in terms of games played) to give the Suns’ starting unit time to (hopefully) gel before pronouncing it DOA and demanding changes?
zenzino: The wording of this question cracks me up. ‘Demanding changes’. Like we have any actual say in what happens.
Blow it up now! Just kidding. So much impatience. The NBA season is a marathon, not a sprint. And the starting gun just went off. What’s worse than the Suns’ play is the Suns’ schedule. 11 days
into the season, and the Suns have played 3 games. Leaves us lots of time in between to contemplate the sky falling.
I’d give it 15-20 games if there were some kind of progress along the way.
All this talk about continuity seems to make us forget that the starters have a distinct lack thereof. 2 of the 5 are new to the lineup, and even the returning 3 starters of Book, Brooks, and Green had only played 10 games together before this season. This should be considered a brand new starting lineup.
While the starting 5 have not yet gelled, I think there are bigger issues throughout the lineup. As Tom wrote earlier this week, the Suns’ culture and ‘alignment’ are in question. As Keratosis pointed out in the comments, everyone is talking about trading Green, and he’s the only one who has been consistent on both ends of the court.
Of course, the players need to act like highly paid professionals. However, as I’ve maintained since the KD days, the leadership has to start at the top with the head coach. This is a huge test of Ott and probably BG because he’s so involved.
The culture and standards have to be consistently maintained and nurtured, not just given lip service. You don’t just get to pick up where you left off last season… or maybe you do, and that’s what the Suns are doing.
Ashton: Rod is setting this whole series of questions up as a chance to throw shade at the Suns. I am going to take the high road and throw shade at the Suns.
Good question? Coach Ott has now had four days to try to get his team on the same page between games. I really hope film review with the players was part of it. Coach Ott says it was a communication issue between him and the players. I am not so sure. It seems like a chemistry issue or at the very least a preparation issue.
I am just not optimistic about the Suns turning this around anytime soon, but I guess I am willing to give them four weeks to show improvement and two months before pronouncing them “DOA”. There are not many changes to demand as the starting four is basically set, but I am willing to climb on board with CG possibly starting as Green still seems to seek the ISO plays. If Booker goes off for another three points, I may seriously consider bringing in Goody’s defense in place of Booker minutes.
Rod: I’m close now, but the absences of both Mark Williams and Oso Ighodaro and the total reliance on Khaman Maluach as the starting center makes me believe that I shouldn’t be too hasty. Duop Reath as the primary backup hasn’t worked out well either, but I also can’t reasonably blame all of the starters’ problems on this.
At this point, I’m kind of in a holding pattern until Oso gets healthy and we can get a look at how well things work out before giving the starting lineup the last rites. I don’t expect a miracle turnaround, but if I don’t see some evidence of better play after 10 games (following his return), then I’ll be fully on board with trying just about anything that has a chance of improving.
Starting Gillespie and moving Green to a 5th man bench role is the obvious 1st move to try. After that, I’m game with just about any other lineup experiment that has any kind of a shot at improving things.
Q2: Three games into the season and the Suns have THE worst-ranked defense in the NBA. What are your thoughts on why they’ve been so bad on D?
zenzino: It would be easy to blame it on the addition of Bridges and the absence of Williams and Oso. Maluach was supposed to have time to ease into the main rotation, and now he’s been thrust into the starting lineup. On the aforementioned fact that even the returning starters haven’t had much time playing together before this season. Those are factors to be sure, but something else just isn’t right. It’s not just the starters.
While the 2nd is better than the starting unit, they still aren’t what we are used to from them. As the ‘look on the bright side’ guy in this, I still have to wonder whether the first half of last season was an anomaly and the post-All-Star-break version is who they actually are.
I might conclude that Mark Williams is the most underrated Suns player. He wasn’t fancy or flashy, but he got the job done in a myriad of ways and was a defensive anchor for this team.
All that talk on media day about how they worked all summer together and are chomping at the bit to get the season started… I got excited.
And now it rings hollow.
All that being said, it’s only been 3 games. Anyone who throws in the towel after 3 tries at anything will never win. Again, from my perspective, this needs to get fixed from the coaching side. The players also need to hold each other accountable, but that starts with the coach.
Ashton: It appears that Miles Bridges is missing multiple assignments and may make the list for worst trade of the year. Booker is visibly frustrated at the defense (and his own shooting). And teams know that the “Center can not hold”. That is a shoutout to poet William Butler Yeats, and as dark as it is, it remains one of my favorite poems. It easily sums up the early Suns games, as I am not sure if there is a “Second Coming”. However, Oso was upgraded to questionable for Friday’s game against Denver.
This comes back to team unity on both sides of the floor, and that is lacking. Suns were universally expected to suck last season and took defense to a chip-on-the-shoulder level. I would have liked to be able to evaluate the Denver Nuggets’ game Friday night, which Jokic has already called “their defense sucks,” but let’s see which team wins that award.
Still, the Suns being last in so many defensive metrics in three games is beyond concerning; it is condemning.
Rod: I honestly believe it’s a combination of things, roster additions/subtractions and injuries being the top 2. I mostly see the effort on the court, but one blown assignment, one offensive rebound given up because you’re out of position, one missed switch can undo all the effort put in. Having two of your top rotation players at the same position (Williams and Ighodaro) has got to hurt both units, especially when your 4th guy in line at that position (Reath) has never been considered even a fair defensive player.
Looking at the numbers, the starting unit has actually been the worst defensively (29th), while the bench has been at least marginally better (20th), though not enough to make a big difference. We’re just three games into the season, though, and hopefully things will improve as the team gets more accustomed to the new additions (Bridges & Kennard), Oso returns to stabilize the rotation, and perhaps some lineup changes are made that give the starting lineup some more defensive muscle.
Q3: With Oso Ighodaro out for the GSW and OKC games, Jordan Ott has mostly played “small ball” lineups when Khaman Maluach is on the bench, with backup center Doup Reath averaging only 5 minutes per game in those two outings. If Oso is going to miss much more time, what backup center options (other than Reath) should the Suns consider?
zenzino: Unlike most people here, the term ‘small ball’ doesn’t make me angry or fill my heart with dread. It is a viable strategy that I’ve watched win championships. The Suns just need to get better at it, and you can only get better at something with practice. Bring it on!
It really depends on how ‘much more’ time we are talking about. If we’re talking a week or two, I don’t think the Suns should strain themselves to find another backup. A month or two? Maybe something needs to be done.
However, we haven’t seen Timme yet. He’s a lighter version of Oso, so maybe they can get by with center by committee. I believe someone more familiar with college basketball than I am said that Sheer used to play small-ball 5 in college. If so, add him to the committee.
I just don’t know that there’s anyone out there for the vet min who could make a difference compared to what we have now. Everyone mentions Olynyk, but he’s playing in Europe now. I wouldn’t hate Bismack Part II, but I don’t think that would move the needle.
Addendum: Oso has been practicing with the team. Ott says that it just depends on how Oso’s body responds to the workouts. So, we’re probably talking days and not weeks.
Oso haters, skip this part. Everyone else, we’re going to see a big difference in this team with Oso. He is the connector. On defense and offense. Adding a passer and playmaker can only help the offense starving for it. While not a rim protector, his on-ball and team defense are key. Everything will work better with him on the court.
Ashton: It is political season. There is more lying than ever, and only sports can match it when it comes to injury reports. I think Oso will be out for more than two games, but that statement may not age well. Also, my favorite day in November is not the fourth but the fifth. That is when all the unwanted ads, calls, and texts shut the hell up.
The cupboard is bare when it comes to backup center options. So, Ott is forced into small-ball for what could be a while. The only answer I have to this is to maybe roll the dice on Koa Peat and see what Drew Timme (who is also out) can do as a little bigger unit off the bench without a center. I really have no idea why Doup Reath is averaging five minutes per game. I thought that stat was startling. He needs more minutes.
Rod: First off, I believe that looking at signing a free agent center to fill that open 15th roster spot is not something the Suns should try…at least not yet. Anyone who is still a free agent at this time of the year, well, there’s usually a very good reason why, and not a good one. If Oso was definitely going to be out for a long stretch of the season, then I’d give it some serious thought, but only then.
At this point, Oso is going to be back on the court before a new guy has had enough time to learn the Suns’ offensive and defensive schemes to be more than an obstacle to cohesive team play, let alone a positive addition. Frankly, I think that’s why Timme actually hasn’t been active yet. He wasn’t around for training camp or any of the preseason games and needs some time to actually learn how things work before being thrown into the fray.
Some have suggested giving Fleming a try, but the guy’s still not playing instinctively at PF, so I doubt he’d really be very effective playing out of position at center.
Playing small ball with Bridges at the 5 spot isn’t the answer, but at least he’s a big body with several years of NBA-level experience who won’t react like a deer in headlights when thrust into a changed role.
All things considered, I’m fine with rolling with things as they are for now, with Reath getting at least a few minutes a game to see if he’s not having a good night before going small. Hopefully, Oso will be back very soon, and we won’t have to have this conversation again… for a while, at least.
As always, many thanks to our Fantable members for all their extra effort this week!
Quotes of the Week
“It’s early. Can’t expect to be perfect right now.” – Jordan Goodwin
“We need to play faster. I think we have an opportunity when we do that. If we get stops, we get rebounds, we’re able to push the pace offensively and just create a lot of different things on the offensive end.” _ Luke Kennard
“Overall, we have to stick with some of things that we’ve talking about all camp because we did see success before the regular season started. We’ve got to give this a little bit of grace of couple more games just in general, both sides of ball. I think we have higher standards for what we want to do.” – Jordan Ott
“We’re just figuring each other out. It’s third game of the season. We’ve been figuring each other out. Once we do, I think we’re going to be a really good team.” – Miles Bridges
Suns Trivia/History
On November 1, 1996, 8-time All-Star Steve Nash made his NBA debut for the Phoenix Suns in a 96-82 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. In his first game, Nash racked up zeros in points, assists, rebounds, steals, etc. in 5 minutes of court time.
It was not until his 2nd game on the following night (Nov. 2) that Nash recorded the first assist and the first basket of his Hall of Fame career in a 110-95 loss to the Houston Rockets. Nash’s totals in that game were 9 points, 1 assist, 1 rebound, and 1 steal in 12 minutes. Although Steve played the fewest minutes of any Sun in this game, he led the team in trips to the free-throw line and shot 6-for-7 for the night.
On November 2, 1999, 4-time All-Star Shawn Marion made his NBA debut for the Phoenix Suns in a 107-102 loss to the Denver Nuggets. Marion recorded his first NBA double-double in the game with 14 points and 14 rebounds. He would get 6 more double-doubles during the rest of his rookie season plus 1 more in the first round of the playoffs.
On November 2, 1990, the Suns defeated the Utah Jazz 119-96 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in Japan, in the first regular-season game played outside North America by any major professional sports league. Tom Chambers led the Suns with 38 points and 10 rebounds while Kevin Johnson scored 29 with 10 assists. 1-time All-Star Cedric Ceballos made his NBA debut in this game, scoring 2 points and grabbing 1 rebound in just 2 minutes of court time.
On November 7, 1992, the Suns celebrated their 30th Anniversary season by moving into the America West Arena where they opened their season with a 111-105 win over the LA Clippers. Charles Barkley (acquired by trade after the end of the previous season) wowed the Phoenix home crowd with a near triple-double (37 points, 21 rebounds and 8 assists) in his first regular season game as a Sun.
The Week Ahead
Monday: Phoenix Suns @ Golden State Warriors, 7:00 pm AZ time
Wednesday: Phoenix Suns vs Portland Trail Blazers, 7:00 pm AZ time
Thursday: Phoenix Suns vs Orlando Magic, 7:00 pm AZ time
Saturday: Phoenix Suns vs Houston Rockets, 7:00 pm AZ time
Important Future Dates
Nov. 6 – NBA G League Tip-Off Tournament begins
Dec. 15 – Most players signed to new contracts can be traded
Jan. 5 – 10-day contracts may now be signed
Jan. 10 – All NBA contracts are guaranteed for the remainder of the season
Jan. 15 – All players signed to new contracts can be traded
Feb. 11 – Trade Deadline
Feb. 19-21 – NBA All-Star 2027
March 1 – Playoff Eligibility Waiver Deadline
April 11 – 2026-27 Regular Season ends (All 30 teams play)
April 12 – Rosters set for NBA Playoffs 2027 (3 p.m. ET)
April 13-16 – SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament
April 17 – NBA Playoffs 2026 begin
