4 key stats that reveal Suns strengths and weaknesses: This team can’t survive without Kevin Durant
By Quinn Everts
Who are these Phoenix Suns? At about the 30 percent mark of the season, I don't think that question can be answered quite yet. Here's what we do know; when healthy and rolling, they're hard to beat — an 8-1 start is evidence of that. We know they struggle defensively, but have enough offensive firepower to (usually) compete. We know that center depth is a position to address.
Other than that... we don't know a whole lot. But a deep dive into some team stats might help us get to know the Suns a bit better.
1. This team needs Kevin Durant to operate
Phoenix is a modest 13-11 through 24 games... but a dismal 1-9 without Kevin Durant. That's a pretty glaring disparity, and something that needs to be addressed if Phoenix wants to stay in the hunt in the Western Conference.
"Being bad without your best player" isn't a Suns-specific problem. But this team has enough talent that it should be able to win some games when Durant is sidelined. Considering Durant is 36 years old, he might be sidelined a decent amount.
On the flipside, though... a 1-9 record without Kevin Durant means the Suns are 12-2 with Durant. That's much better! The takeaway here is that Durant is just as important to Phoenix as other stars are to their teams; even with Devin Booker and an improved overall roster, KD makes this team go.
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2. Defense is becoming more of a problem
Defense isn't the individual calling card of many players on this Suns roster; that's becoming a bigger problem as the season progresses. For the season, Phoenix is ranked No. 21 in defensive rating. That's already not great. But over the past 10 games, the defense has gotten even worse, all the way down to No. 26. A bottom-five defense won't cut it, no matter how many elite offensive weapons a team has.
What's the solution here? More minutes for Monte Morris? More 2-3 zone? More effort? Maybe a little bit of all three.
3. Center is a position of need
Jusuf Nurkic has not delivered the production that Phoenix needs from him at the center position. He's averaging his lowest point output since he played for Denver, and he's not facilitating (1.2 assists) like he is capable of. Instead, he's kind of just... out there.
The solution here isn't as easy as "put the backup center in" either, because the Suns don't really have another center who can play starter's minutes. Mason Plumlee has been a decent NBA center for many years, but he's far past his prime and can't always provide much of anything in his minutes.
Oso Ighodaro, the rookie from Marquette, has shown some nice flashes in the minutes he's played but might get targeted by opposing teams if he's on the court consistently every night.
Would a small ball starting lineup do anything for the Suns? Does relegating Jusuf Nurkic to a bench role help him use his skillset better, or would it just take size away from the Suns starting lineup?
4. Phoenix remains a high-octane shooting team
Shooting heals all in the NBA, and the Suns are a very good shooting team. They're No. 8 in 3-point attempts, No. 6 in 3-pointers made and No. 6 in 3-point percentage. Phoenix isn't nearly as prolific as Boston with its attempts per game — but that's probably for the better. Trying to be Boston (which shoots 51 3s per game) isn't worth it... unless you're Boston.
Devin Booker makes the most 3s on Phoenix at 2.7 per game, and Kevin Durant and Royce O'Neale both connect on 2.6 per game. Yes, Royce O'Neale makes as many 3-pointers per game as Kevin Durant. Tyus Jones makes 2.4, Grayson Allen makes 2.3 and Bradley Beal makes 2.1.
Balance like this is impressive and makes consistency easier; not everyone on Phoenix needs to be "on" every night from deep because there are plenty of players who pick up the slack.