Happy preseason Suns fans!
Like most of you, my expectations are low this season, but my excitement for the upcoming season remains the same. As the great David Jacoby says, “Happiness is a product of expectations.” My optimistic expectation for this season is fairly straightforward: the Suns will win 36 games or more and make the Play-In tournament. For the Suns to achieve this, here are three reasons why the Suns will improve from last season.
Devin Booker becomes a consistent 3-point shooter
Devin Booker entered the league with a reputation as
a 3-point shooter. At times, he has flashed as an elite-level 3-point shooter. However, last season, he shot 33.2% from long distance, which is well below the league average. He also set a career high in attempts last season at 7.3 attempts per game. Much of the increase in volume was due to the Suns’ new style of play under Mike Budenholzer.
Will the Suns’ style of play change under new head coach Jordan Ott? Potentially, but last season as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Cavaliers were fourth in the NBA at 41.4 3-point attempts per game.
So, at least until otherwise stated, the evidence suggests that Booker and the Suns will continue to hoist up 3s at a similar level. Which is a good thing if the Valley’s leading scorer can hit them. Last season, Booker played 75 games for the Suns, and in 37 of those games, he shot 30% or worse from the 3-point line. In 25 games last season, Booker made one or fewer 3s, including 12 games where he put up a donut from long range. In 35 games last season, when Booker made three or more 3s, the Suns were 21-14.
Let’s look at Booker’s 2021-22 season, where he finished fourth in MVP voting. That season, he shot 38.3% on 7.0 attempts per game. Now, a lot of things were different in that 2021-22 season, including having a Hall of Fame point guard on the roster that created much easier looks for Booker. But the fact remains that if Booker is going to get back to an MVP caliber of player this season his 3-point shooting is a big factor in him getting there. If Booker can consistently hit from long range in pick and roll situations and running off of off-ball screens at a high clip, it will open up better and easier drives to the basket and create better opportunities for his teammates.
After struggling mightily from long distance last season, I predict Booker will shoot much better this season on his way back to being a consensus top player in the NBA this season.
Jalen Green’s improvement
The first time I saw Jalen Green play was in high school when he dropped the most incredible 27 points I had ever seen in my life, and he was only a sophomore. After building a double-digit lead in the first half, my team was feeling good until Green took over; we lost by 20 points. What stood out from Green, even then, was his confidence and how easy the game looked for him.
Until last season, Green’s NBA career had been plagued by playing for a dysfunctional franchise in the Rockets. His growth as a winning player was stunted by poor coaching and lackluster offensive talent around him. This season will be his first season without the pressure of leading his team in scoring, and he will be playing next to another superstar in Devin Booker.
This season, I expect Green to blossom and look more like the player many expected him to be, watching him play in high school and in the G-League. After being traded to Phoenix, Green has the opportunity for a fresh start, learn from what went right —and what went wrong— in Houston, and learn from one of the game’s best players in Booker. In Phoenix, Green will be to regain his confidence and become a second star for the Suns to build around, or trade for a star to get the Suns back to title contention, and this season is the first step.
Dillon Brooks elevates Phoenix’s defense
Since trading Mikal Bridges and Jae Crowder, the Phoenix Suns have lacked a defensive stopper and defensive toughness. Phoenix now hopes that Dillon Brooks is the answer to reviving a defense that was one of the worst in the NBA last season. Brooks has been a part of three top-five defenses as a starter in his last four seasons in Houston and Memphis.
Brooks’ toughness and tenacity on the defensive end have been contagious for his teammates in his last two stops, and he has shown he is unafraid to get in the face of his opponents as well as his teammates. A glaring weakness the Suns have been missing since Crowder was traded.
For the Phoenix to make the playoffs this season, it will be because Brooks is the leader of a talented, young, and gritty core of Ryan Dunn, Rasheer Fleming, Mark Williams, Jalen Green, etc. that is downright nasty on the defensive end of the court.
If Devin Booker, Jalen Green, and Dillon Brooks can all improve in these areas this season, I am more than optimistic the Suns will make the playoffs, and the franchise will finally be heading in the right direction.
