Phx-Suns.Net

26. Phoenix Suns
Chances to make playoffs: 1.5%
Projected wins: 31.8

Biggest thing we'll be talking about this season: Is Devin Booker on board with the direction of the franchise? It's hard to believe that just four years ago, Booker had back-to-back 40-point games in the NBA Finals and the Suns were just two wins away from their first championship. Playing for his seventh different coach in Jordan Ott since being drafted in 2015, Booker, who turns 29 on Oct. 30, said he is ready to take on the challenge of leading Phoenix in the fiercely crowded Western Conference. "We have unfinished business here," Booker said before the Suns' preseason opener. "Obviously a younger team and I'll have more of a leadership responsibility. And that's fine with me. I've pretty much seen it all and I'm going to give my two cents when I feel like I fits in."

Biggest strength: Youth and athleticism. After relying on aging stars such as Chris Paul, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal in recent seasons, Booker is now flanked by a handful of fresh faces in Jalen Green (23), Dillon Brooks (29), Mark Williams (23) and Khaman Maluach (19). They are built to run.
Devin Booker is one of two players to average 25-plus points in each of the past seven seasons (with Giannis Antetokounmpo).

Biggest concern: With this much turnover from last season, not only in the roster but with Ott taking over for Mike Budenholzer on the sidelines, it's going to take time for this group to come together. And a preseason trip to China, cutting into training camp, didn't help. Plus, playing in the West, there won't be many nights when Phoenix will get a break. -- McMenamin

Bold (but realistic) prediction: Phoenix finishes 14th in the West. The Suns have shooting guards, centers and just about nothing else on their roster, and a lack of playmaking and defense will make it hard for them to win with any consistency in such a deep conference. Utah's a near lock to finish last in the West, but second to last is a realistic possibility for a team that, until recently, was all-in for a title. -- Kram

Number to watch: 26.2
With a change in personnel and head coach, how much will the Suns attack the rim? Last season, 26.2% of their shots were layup or dunk attempts, the lowest rate by any team in a season since player tracking began in 2013-14.

Fantasy nugget: Booker could see the highest usage rate of his career with Durant and Beal both traded away this offseason. Booker averaged 20.1 FGA and 27.3 PPG in games without Durant and Beal last season. -- Moody

#25 Phoenix Suns
Last Week:25

Preseason record: 3-1
OffRtg: 109.9 (17) DefRtg: 102.2 (5) NetRtg: +7.7 (6) Pace: 101.1 (25)

Expectations for the Suns went out the door with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, but they still have some vets who could keep them somewhat competitive and more enjoyable to watch than they were last season.

Preseason takeaways

The Suns played some physical defense, led by their wing duo of Brooks and Dunn. They forced an incredible 27.4 turnovers per 100 possessions in 59 minutes with both guys on the floor, but Dillon Brooks (6.7) and Ryan Dunn (6.2) were two of the eight players who played at least 50 preseason minutes and committed more than six fouls per 36.

He only played against the Nets and the Dončić-less Lakers, but the Suns outscored their opponents by 18.9 points per 100 possessions in Devin Booker’s 79 minutes. And despite the lack of a real point guard, they kept their turnover rate relatively low.

Something to watch in Week 1: The restricted area. Last season, the Suns were outscored by 8.2 points per game in the restricted area, the league’s biggest discrepancy by a huge margin. The departures of Beal and Durant should make them less of a jump-shooting team, while Mark Williams (who missed the entire preseason) gives them some additional rim protection.

The Suns will play their first 12 games within the Western Conference, with a tough weekend back-to-back where they’ll visit the Clippers and Nuggets. They were 7-15 (1-11 after Jan. 27) against the top six teams in the West last season.

Week 1: vs. SAC, @ LAC, @ DEN

Biggest concern: With this much turnover from last season, not only in the roster but with Ott taking over for Mike Budenholzer on the sidelines, it's going to take time for this group to come together. And a preseason trip to China, cutting into training camp, didn't help. Plus, playing in the West, there won't be many nights when Phoenix will get a break. -- McMenamin

Phoenix Suns

They’ll win more games than last season: I know. Low bar. With the league’s highest payroll, the Suns won 36 games last season and missed the Play-In Tournament. It was a miserable year, one that couldn’t end quickly enough. This will be better. The weight of expectations is gone. Without Durant, Devin Booker will be more aggressive. Dillon Brooks will provide a defensive edge (and other shenanigans). Jalen Green will … actually, I’m not yet sure.

The whiff potential here is significant. To improve, the Suns will need big man Mark Williams to stay healthy, something he has not done. Booker will have to be at his best while bringing out the best in Green, a tricky task. Ryan Dunn will have to be consistent from 3. A playoff team? No. But 38 wins with a chance at the final Play-In spot? That’s doable. — Doug Haller

Shabazz wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 21, 2025 9:55 am

What’s striking to me is how, after two years of being “contenders,” constantly in the news, etc, we’re pretty irrelevant in the NBA discourse these days. I’m sure it will be a better season as a fan than the last two (how could it not?), but there’s something kind of depressing about being back with the Bulls, Kings, Pelicans class of teams in terms of short and long-term outlook.

ShelC wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 21, 2025 3:22 am

The youth movement is underway in Phoenix
https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/suns ... s-ighodaro

The Suns will have the worst defense in the NBA.

Only three teams allowed more points per 100 possessions than the Suns last year. Much of that was thanks to their abysmal effort getting back in transition and lackadaisical approach to rotating in the half court. In both areas, Phoenix finished dead last in points per play. Hustle was voluntary on most nights and a complete fantasy on others. Everything else was atrocious, too. They didn’t force turnovers, and, despite embracing a pack-the-paint mentality to account for their absence of a traditional rim protector, still gave up a staggering 68.4 percent shooting in the restricted area.

Now, one season removed from a mismanaged disaster of epic proportions that soured what had been a convivial relationship with one of the greatest players in NBA history, the Suns have hired Jordan Ott, a first-time head coach who spent the preseason tinkering with a pressure-heavy defensive strategy that, given this team’s personnel, will likely end in total disaster. Trying hard is only half the battle; when Jalen Green, Devin Booker, Grayson Allen, and Collin Gillespie factor heavily into your rotation, the battle is perpetually uphill.

Ryan Dunn is a keeper and there are lineup combinations with Dillon Brooks and Royce O’Neale that may wreak some havoc, but, well, at the same time, Brooks and O’Neale may/should be traded. And regardless of the scheme that’s deployed by Ott, Phoenix’s defensive success hinges on a big man rotation that’s antsy, inexperienced, and injury prone. All those words describe Mark Williams, a specious franchise center whom the franchise-center-needing Charlotte Hornets spent all least season shopping around.

Williams is pivotal here. His size, length, and leaping ability ooze potential. In truth, last season he allowed an at-rim field goal percentage that was 5.7 percentage points worse with him on the court than off. There’s more that goes into that number, but Williams has yet to show he can provide the type of reliable paint security that Phoenix will desperately need. Rookie big Khaman Maluach isn’t the answer (yet), nor is last year’s purported savior Nick Richards. Phoenix’s offense will have a say here too. Iffy shot selection (which Green and Brooks will provide) combined with foreseeable turnovers will make it harder for a team lacking an established point guard to get organized heading the other way.

There will be very bad defenses in the NBA this season (to name a few, shout-out to Sacramento, Utah, Washington, and Brooklyn), but something tells me Phoenix will run itself into the ground as the season goes along.

ShelC wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 21, 2025 10:14 am

The Suns will have the worst defense in the NBA.

Only three teams allowed more points per 100 possessions than the Suns last year. Much of that was thanks to their abysmal effort getting back in transition and lackadaisical approach to rotating in the half court. In both areas, Phoenix finished dead last in points per play. Hustle was voluntary on most nights and a complete fantasy on others. Everything else was atrocious, too. They didn’t force turnovers, and, despite embracing a pack-the-paint mentality to account for their absence of a traditional rim protector, still gave up a staggering 68.4 percent shooting in the restricted area.

Now, one season removed from a mismanaged disaster of epic proportions that soured what had been a convivial relationship with one of the greatest players in NBA history, the Suns have hired Jordan Ott, a first-time head coach who spent the preseason tinkering with a pressure-heavy defensive strategy that, given this team’s personnel, will likely end in total disaster. Trying hard is only half the battle; when Jalen Green, Devin Booker, Grayson Allen, and Collin Gillespie factor heavily into your rotation, the battle is perpetually uphill.

Ryan Dunn is a keeper and there are lineup combinations with Dillon Brooks and Royce O’Neale that may wreak some havoc, but, well, at the same time, Brooks and O’Neale may/should be traded. And regardless of the scheme that’s deployed by Ott, Phoenix’s defensive success hinges on a big man rotation that’s antsy, inexperienced, and injury prone. All those words describe Mark Williams, a specious franchise center whom the franchise-center-needing Charlotte Hornets spent all least season shopping around.

Williams is pivotal here. His size, length, and leaping ability ooze potential. In truth, last season he allowed an at-rim field goal percentage that was 5.7 percentage points worse with him on the court than off. There’s more that goes into that number, but Williams has yet to show he can provide the type of reliable paint security that Phoenix will desperately need. Rookie big Khaman Maluach isn’t the answer (yet), nor is last year’s purported savior Nick Richards. Phoenix’s offense will have a say here too. Iffy shot selection (which Green and Brooks will provide) combined with foreseeable turnovers will make it harder for a team lacking an established point guard to get organized heading the other way.

There will be very bad defenses in the NBA this season (to name a few, shout-out to Sacramento, Utah, Washington, and Brooklyn), but something tells me Phoenix will run itself into the ground as the season goes along.

specialsauce wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 21, 2025 9:42 am

Well there's a high likelihood we start the year 0-3 or 1-2

ShelC wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 21, 2025 10:28 am

specialsauce wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 21, 2025 9:42 am

Well there's a high likelihood we start the year 0-3 or 1-2

We should beat the Kings. I'd love it if we could hang tough with the Clips and get a W. I really don't like them, think they're overrated and we should beat them but that's my bias speaking.

Superbone wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 21, 2025 10:20 am

ShelC wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 21, 2025 10:14 am

The Suns will have the worst defense in the NBA.

Only three teams allowed more points per 100 possessions than the Suns last year. Much of that was thanks to their abysmal effort getting back in transition and lackadaisical approach to rotating in the half court. In both areas, Phoenix finished dead last in points per play. Hustle was voluntary on most nights and a complete fantasy on others. Everything else was atrocious, too. They didn’t force turnovers, and, despite embracing a pack-the-paint mentality to account for their absence of a traditional rim protector, still gave up a staggering 68.4 percent shooting in the restricted area.

Now, one season removed from a mismanaged disaster of epic proportions that soured what had been a convivial relationship with one of the greatest players in NBA history, the Suns have hired Jordan Ott, a first-time head coach who spent the preseason tinkering with a pressure-heavy defensive strategy that, given this team’s personnel, will likely end in total disaster. Trying hard is only half the battle; when Jalen Green, Devin Booker, Grayson Allen, and Collin Gillespie factor heavily into your rotation, the battle is perpetually uphill.

Ryan Dunn is a keeper and there are lineup combinations with Dillon Brooks and Royce O’Neale that may wreak some havoc, but, well, at the same time, Brooks and O’Neale may/should be traded. And regardless of the scheme that’s deployed by Ott, Phoenix’s defensive success hinges on a big man rotation that’s antsy, inexperienced, and injury prone. All those words describe Mark Williams, a specious franchise center whom the franchise-center-needing Charlotte Hornets spent all least season shopping around.

Williams is pivotal here. His size, length, and leaping ability ooze potential. In truth, last season he allowed an at-rim field goal percentage that was 5.7 percentage points worse with him on the court than off. There’s more that goes into that number, but Williams has yet to show he can provide the type of reliable paint security that Phoenix will desperately need. Rookie big Khaman Maluach isn’t the answer (yet), nor is last year’s purported savior Nick Richards. Phoenix’s offense will have a say here too. Iffy shot selection (which Green and Brooks will provide) combined with foreseeable turnovers will make it harder for a team lacking an established point guard to get organized heading the other way.

There will be very bad defenses in the NBA this season (to name a few, shout-out to Sacramento, Utah, Washington, and Brooklyn), but something tells me Phoenix will run itself into the ground as the season goes along.

I think this guy is going to look like a fool. At least I hope so.

SunsRIt wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 21, 2025 10:57 am

Superbone wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 21, 2025 10:20 am

ShelC wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 21, 2025 10:14 am

Spoiler: show/hide

Spoiler: show/hide

The Suns will have the worst defense in the NBA.

Only three teams allowed more points per 100 possessions than the Suns last year. Much of that was thanks to their abysmal effort getting back in transition and lackadaisical approach to rotating in the half court. In both areas, Phoenix finished dead last in points per play. Hustle was voluntary on most nights and a complete fantasy on others. Everything else was atrocious, too. They didn’t force turnovers, and, despite embracing a pack-the-paint mentality to account for their absence of a traditional rim protector, still gave up a staggering 68.4 percent shooting in the restricted area.

Now, one season removed from a mismanaged disaster of epic proportions that soured what had been a convivial relationship with one of the greatest players in NBA history, the Suns have hired Jordan Ott, a first-time head coach who spent the preseason tinkering with a pressure-heavy defensive strategy that, given this team’s personnel, will likely end in total disaster. Trying hard is only half the battle; when Jalen Green, Devin Booker, Grayson Allen, and Collin Gillespie factor heavily into your rotation, the battle is perpetually uphill.

Ryan Dunn is a keeper and there are lineup combinations with Dillon Brooks and Royce O’Neale that may wreak some havoc, but, well, at the same time, Brooks and O’Neale may/should be traded. And regardless of the scheme that’s deployed by Ott, Phoenix’s defensive success hinges on a big man rotation that’s antsy, inexperienced, and injury prone. All those words describe Mark Williams, a specious franchise center whom the franchise-center-needing Charlotte Hornets spent all least season shopping around.

Williams is pivotal here. His size, length, and leaping ability ooze potential. In truth, last season he allowed an at-rim field goal percentage that was 5.7 percentage points worse with him on the court than off. There’s more that goes into that number, but Williams has yet to show he can provide the type of reliable paint security that Phoenix will desperately need. Rookie big Khaman Maluach isn’t the answer (yet), nor is last year’s purported savior Nick Richards. Phoenix’s offense will have a say here too. Iffy shot selection (which Green and Brooks will provide) combined with foreseeable turnovers will make it harder for a team lacking an established point guard to get organized heading the other way.

There will be very bad defenses in the NBA this season (to name a few, shout-out to Sacramento, Utah, Washington, and Brooklyn), but something tells me Phoenix will run itself into the ground as the season goes along.

I think this guy is going to look like a fool. At least I hope so.

I think “bold predictions” means throw something at the wall and see if it sticks. If it does he looks like a genius. Chances are slim he hits on anything.

Mori Chu wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 21, 2025 6:19 pm

Anybody else watching OKC/HOU? I am super hate-watching hoping Durant sucks and the Rockets lose. Right now Houston is up 7 in the middle of the 3rd quarter, but OKC is showing signs of life.