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There’s no way around it; the Phoenix Suns are in a rut. After starting the season 8-1, the Suns are 1-5 over their last six games. Not so coincidentally, Kevin Durant went down with a left calf strain six games ago.
The problem is, injuries have piled on KD’s two-week re-evaluation period (which arrives on Sunday). Bradley Beal went down with a calf strain two games later. Grayson Allen and Jusuf Nurkic has battled their own ailments. What once looked like one of the NBA’s best teams has rapidly spiraled into a shell of itself, desperate to pick up wins while Durant and Beal remain sidelined.
Over this 1-5 stretch that’s somehow shifted the perception of this season, it’s important to take a step back and evaluate what’s gone wrong — and a few silver linings! — from this brutal stretch.
1. Defenses are loading up on Devin Booker, and the Suns are struggling to handle it
We covered Devin Booker’s slow start last week, but the situation’s been exacerbated by Beal joining Durant on the sidelines. The Suns have had Grayson Allen back for the last two games, but even that can only do so much in terms of providing spacing.
With two of the Big 3 out, opponents have made life hell for Booker, blitzing him in pick-and-rolls, double-teaming him whenever he touches the ball, roughing him up off-ball and constantly shading over to make sure he has as little breathing room as possible.
The schedule has done them no favors either; their last three opponents have been the NBA’s No. 1 defense in the Oklahoma City Thunder, last year’s No. 1 defense in the Minnesota Timberwolves, and this year’s No. 2 defense in the Orlando Magic.
Against the Wolves and Utah Jazz, Booker tallied a combined 75 points on 26-of-49 shooting overall (53.1 percent) and 11-for-22 shooting from deep (50 percent). In the other four games during this six-game skid, he’s managed just 70 points on 22-of-62 shooting overall (35.5 percent) and 5-of-21 shooting from downtown (23.8 percent).
The Suns need more from the face of their franchise, who’s missed plenty of makable shots over this stretch:
However, ignoring the type of coverage he’s seeing and pinning his struggles on his “mentality” or “lack of aggression” would be foolish. Opponents are completely selling out to get the ball out of his hands, and the Suns haven’t exactly made them pay for it.
In the first Sacramento Kings matchup, the Suns shot 18-for-57 from 3, failing to open up the floor for Booker. In their rematch, it was the same story, with Phoenix shooting just 13-for-43 from deep. Against OKC, they shot an abysmal 9-for-37 en route to a season-low 83 points, and against Orlando, they managed just 12-for-41 from long range. This team ranked seventh in the NBA in 3-point percentage before Durant went down!
“They’re makable shots, we just gotta hit ’em,” Ryan Dunn said. “I feel like some of them, we’re just trying to drive and create when they double, make advantages, and we’re getting them. We’re getting some wide-open shots, we just gotta hit ’em.”
Going back and watching every Suns field goal attempt from the last six games, there were plenty of instances where Booker just missed a makable shot. But there were plenty more where he got doubled, made the right pass out of it…and watched as his teammates simply missed good shots:
“First, Devin has been great,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “His unselfishness, his willingness to pass and take the aggressiveness of the defense and hopefully turn it in our favor, Book has been phenomenal. And then behind it, at times we’ve been good. At times I think we need to be more aggressive. The guy on the first pass out I think’s gotta be more aggressive. And sometimes we get good looks and we just haven’t made them.”
When those shots fall, the Suns will be competitive again and start making Booker’s life easier. But they haven’t been able to do it against the NBA’s top-two defenses, and it’s natural to wonder why Booker hasn’t taken over more games like he did with his 44-point detonation against Minnesota.
Well, first off, the Wolves didn’t fully lean into double-teaming Booker on every touch until the second half. And second, the Suns actually made their 3s in that game, shooting 14-for-31 from deep. When that happens, the crisp ball movement looks more like the team we saw in the first few weeks of the season:
“I think we’re still figuring it out,” Tyus Jones said. “We’re asking Book to do a lot. It’s a lot of pressure on him, it’s a lot of focus on him. They’re physical with him, they hold and grab him all night, they’re throwing two bodies at him. So it’s a lot on his plate, and we just gotta continue to find ways to get him open the times that we can and also continue to help him out with other guys making shots and making plays.”
Budenholzer and the Suns have reiterated it’s a matter of trusting what they’re doing, and Booker doubled down on the idea that he no longer needs to force his own offense like he did in his earlier years, when he was surrounded by G League talent.
But as commendable as it is for Booker to commit to playing the right way, trusting his teammates and helping them get acclimated, in the short-term, the Suns could use some wins. That will require Booker to take more shots, make more shots…and for Phoenix to put him in better positions to do so.
“I think sometimes maybe moving him, getting him off the ball some,” Budenholzer replied when asked how the Suns could free up Booker more. “But if they put two [defenders] to him, I think there are some good looks. And if they put two to him and he shares it and we move it and you get good looks, I think that we got a lot of faith in our guys. We’re gonna make those more often than not. So I think to use him to draw two is good, and then sometimes we gotta try and free him up.”
2. Too many Suns have gone cold at the wrong time
The Suns won’t be able to free Booker up unless a few guys snap out of their recent funks as well. Royce O’Neale and Ryan Dunn are the most glaring examples, mostly because they play vital minutes on the wing…and their scorching starts to the season have cooled significantly.Take O’Neale’s fall-off from the first nine games with KD compared to the last six without him:
- Royce O’Neale first 9 games: 10.4 PPG, 53.2 FG%, 20-38 3P (52.6%)
- Royce O’Neale last 6 games: 7.0 PPG, 25.4 FG%, 8-34 3P (23.5%)
Dunn hasn’t fared much better:
- Ryan Dunn first 9 games: 6.8 PPG, 45.5 FG%, 13-33 3P (39.4%)
- Ryan Dunn last 6 games: 7.0 PPG, 39.1 FG%, 6-26 3P (23.1%)
And we have to mention Jusuf Nurkic, who’s gone from bad to downright unplayable with Durant sidelined. The ankle is clearly hindering him, but his shooting splits were subpar before that, and they’ve somehow gotten worse:
- Jusuf Nurkic first 9 games: 11.0 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 47.1 FG%, 9-26 3P (34.6%)
- Jusuf Nurkic last 6 games: 3.0 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 13 FG%, 1-12 3P (8.3%)
The Suns need more from Devin Booker, but so far, opponents are forcing anyone but Book to beat them, and only a few players have actually answered that call.
3. Josh Okogie is doing his absolute best
Okogie is one of those guys stepping up. It hasn’t been enough to move the needle in the win-loss column, but his efforts shouldn’t be overlooked just because the Suns are in the dumps right now. If anything, he’s making a case for minutes once the roster is whole again.
“There’s an athleticism, an energy, a pop that I think JO has brought,” Budenholzer said. “His ability to put the ball down, get a piece of the paint, attack the basket has been good for us. He’s hit some timely 3s, follow rebound put-back dunks, defending, taking on the other team’s best player. So I think JO has been a good kinda source of energy and athleticism and just overall good play off the bench.”
In his seven games since returning from a hamstring injury, Okogie is putting up 10.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals in his 18.9 minutes per game. Even better, he’s shooting an uncharacteristically efficient 55.1 percent from the floor, including 8-for-16 from 3.
If history has taught us anything, this hot streak from beyond the arc probably won’t last. But there seems to be a different jolt in Okogie’s step to start this season — quite literally. As he was rehabbing his hamstring, Okogie realized that injured leg had actually gotten stronger than the other one. Once he got that leg caught up, he was ready to return — this time with even more burst on his leaps and speed in his sprints.
From steals leading to fast break opportunities, to crafty little drives in the lane against bad closeouts, to crashing the offensive glass for second-chance opportunities, to knocking down the occasional corner 3, the 26-year-old is playing some of the best basketball of his career.
“Energy,” Okogie said when asked what he can provide for this Suns team. “Just energy. I’ve seen that we’re 30th in offensive rebounding in the league, so some offensive rebounds, for sure, extra possessions for the team. And just hopefully put that energy pack in the back of everybody’s back so everybody’s ready to go for 48 minutes.”
How long will it last? We’ve seen Okogie make an impact and then fade into the background once shots stopped falling, so only time will tell. But it shouldn’t be overlooked that during one of Phoenix’s most dire stretches of the season, Josh Okogie answered the call.
4. Oso Ighodaro looks ready for a bigger role
Like JO, Oso Ighodaro has made the most of his recent opportunities with Nurk being unplayable/sidelined by the ankle sprain. In his first NBA start, Ighodaro put up 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals on 6-of-8 shooting against Orlando.
“I thought he’s been preparing for that moment, so I was excited for him, happy for him,” Tyus Jones said. “A lot of hard work going into that, and it’s not gonna be his last. So I thought he was ready to play, brought great energy for us tonight, and the moment wasn’t too big.”
Ighodaro’s only played 162 minutes on the season, and 32 of those came in the Magic loss. But when he has gotten in, Ighodaro’s displayed the type of high-IQ screening and rolling that was a staple of his game at Marquette…as well as some underrated bounce on two poster dunks.
“I mean, you saw him jump from the free-throw line,” Ryan Dunn joked. “That’s kind of impressive!”
The highlight dunks will get deserved attention, but all of the qualities Bud mentioned have been on full display over the last few games, giving Booker and Jones a trustworthy roll man to feed as soon as they’re doubled.
“I think the good thing that you’ve seen a little bit of his athleticism, a little bit of his dynamic where he’s actually playing through and finishing, getting above the rim,” Budenholzer said. “And then the stuff that I think we’ve all seen a lot is where he catches it and he finds guys. So I think to add the ability to go and finish it, get on top of the rim, and then also be a passer where you’re not always just kind of one-dimensional in the half-roll.”
But Ighodaro is also good at finding spaces to be effective outside of pick-and-rolls. On dribble handoffs, he’s great about reading when his defender is over-committing to helping, and when he senses that, he fakes the DHO without picking up his dribble before exploding toward the basket to either finish or kick to the open man in the corner.
He’s also really smart in timing his cuts, freeing himself up for dump-offs where he can utilize his trusty push shot or finish at the rim. Ighodaro has been particularly good from the baseline, which is all the more impressive considering he can’t really shoot outside the paint and has spent the last two games in dual-big lineups that would hinder most teams’ spacing.
“It’s interesting to see his IQ when he doesn’t have the ball,” Budenholzer said. “I think we’re all very aware of how good he is with the ball, but learning how to cut and space and play with a second big and things that are very new to him, and to us, to be honest with you. It’s just impressive.”
Most of the attention has been on Dunn, but when Ighodaro got his first ever start alongside his fellow rookie, Tyus Jones said nobody in the locker room flinched. It’s clear to see why, and Ighodaro’s understanding of his role is already well beyond his years.
“Just playing in space, being good cutters, screening off the ball, just finding ways to occupy the defense some,” Ighodaro said. “They’re obviously loading up on Book and Tyus right now, so just finding ways to get guys open and then being playmakers when we get the ball.”
5. Some perspective for Suns fans
This shouldn’t be breaking news, but maybe expectations should be temporarily tempered for a team that was built around a Big 3 and has been missing two of those three for the last four games now?
Yes, Phoenix’s depth has improved. Yes, Devin Booker and the Suns need to be better, and they’ve had enough to win some of these games. And yes, falling to 1-5 over a six-game stretch — with another tough contest against the New York Knicks looming on Wednesday — feels like a reversal of fortunes from a week ago.
But everyone in Phoenix needs to take a deep breath. After Wednesday’s game, the Suns don’t play again until next Tuesday, and Durant’s calf injury will be re-evaluated in the middle of that five-day break on Sunday. This team has played 10 games over the last 17 days, with seven of the last eight coming against playoff-caliber opponents — all while missing their best player in KD, their third-best player in Beal, and another one of their top-six players in Grayson Allen for a few games.
Take away two of the top three players on any team in the NBA and they’d be hard-pressed to win many games against that type of gauntlet.
Fortunately, we’ve seen what the Suns are capable of when they’re healthy: an 8-1 record with plenty of room still left for improvement. That feels worth assessing more than what we’ve seen over the last few weeks, especially since we already knew this team would struggle to contend unless the Big 3 are healthy.
So if were already understood the Suns won’t realistically contend for a title unless Booker, Durant and Beal are all on the floor together, why are we so insistent on freaking out about this 1-5 stretch where, ya know, they weren’t on the floor together?
Having concern over those three actually staying healthy is perfectly rational. But from the day Phoenix pulled the trigger on those trades, the risks were abundantly clear. And despite their recent skid, the Suns are still tied for the seventh-best record in the NBA, thanks to that 8-1 start that told us way more about this team than what we’ve seen from the injury-decimated version that’s taken hold.
It’s understandable for the fanbase and even the locker room to feel demoralized right now. They lost an overtime game against Sacramento that they should’ve won, dropped the rematch, got swarmed and smacked by OKC, suffered their toughest loss yet in a game they should’ve won against the team that swept them in the playoffs last year, and then got beaten down by another elite defense.
But we’re only 15 games into the season, and the biggest problem with this team — injury — is out of everyone’s control. So until they’re whole again, the Suns are trying to keep perspective.
“It’s a long season,” Jones said. “There’s ups and downs of the season. There’s times where we’re gonna be playing great ball, there’s times where we’re gonna be struggling to get a win like right now. And you just gotta continue to push through. You gotta try to just stay somewhere in the middle and just try to continue to improve as a group, because we know what our goals are, and you can’t win a championship in November.”
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