The Phoenix Suns took the NBA by storm last season, catching several teams off guard. They were supposed to be the “easy win” on the schedule for opponents. Instead, they made it a 48-minute battle every time they stepped out on that floor, win or lose.
Towards the end of the year, teams caught on and the Suns started to crash back to reality a bit. Yes, injuries were a factor. But that was part of it. This year, they will not have that same luxury from the jump.
This article is not meant to be doom
and gloom, just offering an alternative angle to combat some of the optimism that is oozing out of portions of the fan base. I will argue against myself in the next piece to look more at the… wait for it… bright side. But for now, let’s nitpick.
1) Lack of clearly defined roles
The Suns are asking a lot of guys to do things they normally don’t do. Or maybe things they aren’t particularly known for. Jalen Green as a point guard? Miles Bridges to take on less usage, hit threes, and improve playmaking? Dillon Brooks will not have the same freedom (health permitted to the rest of the roster) as he did last year. How does this quartet adjust together, assuming they are all on the court at the same time.
That’s not to say that it can’t work. We just need to see it first.
The Gillespie/Kennard/Goodwin bench trio is awesome. Jordan Ott will need to find a way to keep every one of these guys happy both from a minutes and field goal attempts standpoint. Injuries can naturally solve some of those issues, but let’s hope that’s not the case, especially with how last year went.
The center rotation is talented, but could be tough to get consistency from depending on Mark Williams’ health. If you are a believer in Khaman Maluach like me, and find Oso as a useful depth piece (also me) then you aren’t as worried about this position overall. Rasheer Fleming and Koa Peat figure to get spotty minutes depending on health.
But for me, it’s really about a team that is built awkwardly. They are talented and deep, but we just need to see how it all meshes together. And some of you may be thinking “they didn’t really change that much,” and you’d be right on the surface. But what I’m assuming is we get more Jalen Green, who we did not see a lot of last year, and with Miles Bridges in the mix plus Allen and O’Neale gone as rotation staples, it opens some discussion for what this team’s identity is at full strength.
The intangibles are on the bench, and the raw talent is starting. Jordan Ottt has to push the right buttons to blend this thing into a masterpiece.
2) Lack of playmaking + floor spacing
This is the one that isn’t just focused on the lack of playmaking, but rather, the mentality/reputation of Green, Brooks, and Bridges all being more “me-first” offensively. I’m not aiming to knock them, but throughout their careers, they have been guys who have looked to create for themselves or feed off others’ creation.
Jalen Green’s playmaking is not a strength. Miles Bridges’ playmaking is not a strength. Dillon Brooks’ playmaking is not a strength. Mark Williams is not a playmaking center, and he cannot space the floor.
That puts a ton of pressure on Devin Booker to playmake, which he is capable of. But then we get into the floor-spacing concerns.
3PT% in 2025-26
- Devin Booker – 33.0%
- Jalen Green – 31.3%
- Dillon Brooks – 34.4%
- Miles Bridges – 33.3%
That is 80% of their projected starting lineup shooting under 35 percent from deep, and their starting center doesn’t shoot threes. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s something that needs to be talked about more. How do they make it work?
3) No element of surprise
As noted, Phoenix caught a lot of teams by surprise a year ago, especially earlier in the season. This year, they will not have that same luxury. They earned the respect of their peers, and that does matter to an extent.
Teams will be better prepared for them both gameplan-wise and from a mentality standpoint. They will have more extensive scouting reports and film on guys like Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin, who snuck up on them last year. Instead of teams coming in on autopilot in a random Tuesday night game in Phoenix, they will be ready for a dogfight. I’m not saying that happens all of the time, but the element of surprise is something that I think we all saw benefit the Suns more than once a year ago.
Can they sustain that level of intensity and outwork their opponents throughout an 82-game season again? It’s a tall task, but if they can stay relatively healthy, their identity should continue to shine through.
The expectations are a bit higher this season, and we’ve seen that lead to disappointment in the past. Let’s hope this season is different, and the Suns build off their momentum from last season.
