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In a rollercoaster start to 2025, the Phoenix Suns are 19-20, with an Offensive Rating of 114.9 (11th), a Defensive Rating of 116.4 (24th), and a non-garbage time Net of -1.5 (20th) — all per Cleaning the Glass.
The climb back to .500 has been arduous, trying and revealing, all of which they’ve needed to endure on their 82-game marathon.
The Suns got there after winning three straight, but dropped back a game below after a loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night in game one of a five-game road trip.
It’s all painted a clearer picture of just where Phoenix is, compared to where they desire to be and where their cap situation (as the most expensive roster in the NBA) suggests they should be.
Change is inevitable, and the first domino fell on Wednesday when the Suns acquired center Nick Richards and a second-round pick in exchange for Josh Okogie and three second-round picks.
On Wednesday, a handful of other players across the league who were in the same boat as Josh Okogie, had their trade restrictions lifted.
Regarding the Suns, here’s what has caught my attention recently.
Beal to the bench
Bradley Beal’s move to the bench came as a shock and surprise in many respects. Nonetheless, it served as a change in direction for a team that needed change, in multiple capacities.
Though it’s questionable if the right guard from the initial starting unit was being demoted, the lineup shift has provided more lineup balance from the onset.
Beal seems to have been given more of a runway offensively, which has enabled him to play a bit more freely as well. In this window as the top reserve, he’s averaged 16.3 PPG.
What stands out most for me is his intent on playing downhill, and how it’s set a tone for the Suns in many ways.
He’s averaging 3.8 FGM on 5.5 FGA, 68.2% from less than 10 feet, per NBA.com. Though marginal, the uptick is there.
Even more, he’s registered three of his nine highest-scoring paint point performances of the season, including 12 on Tuesday night against Atlanta.
His downhill prowess has come via a slight uptick in movement by design. The team’s gone to some Chicago action (a screen into a handoff) for him, which I think should be a more steadily used package for him.
Additionally, we’ve seen an action that Frank Vogel and Kevin Young leaned on last season, a variation of action I’ve desired for them to use more with Beal in tandem with Booker, which is Pistol (early offense quick hitters).
The action serves as a change of pace to the Suns attack, akin to how NFL teams would line up running backs/wide receivers/team-best athletes behind center to change the pace of play.
That in mind for Beal, in tandem with the aforementioned downhill prowess, “Pistol 5” greatly aligns.
At its foundation, the objective is to create an advantage early in the offense for the Suns, stemming from the threat of Beal on a dynamic touch downhill.
Beal pitches this ahead to a Suns center early in the offense, making it a variation of Pistol. Then, following his pass into a handoff is called Chase/Get/Handback.
Because Beal has shot well, most teams will elect to go over the handoff and chase him.
When a good screen is set from Jusuf Nurkić, it creates a natural advantage, attacking the opposing center, with Beal in movement (a dynamic touch).
The big both retreats and opens his hips, both tell-tell signs for Beal to throttle down and take the pull up.
Brandon Miller elects for the “fastest route” option here in screen navigation to meet Beal on the other side and cut the angle, preventing him from turning the corner.
Notice Nick Richards shifting as well, in reaction. This was a good rep because Beal and Nurkić got into their two-man flow with a secondary Get/Chase/Handback scenario to counter the coverage.
The opposing big is heavy in the paint as well as Miller chasing Beal, so Nurkić is wide open in a flow, depositing the wide-open three.
Note the pace of play and how it occurs so early that the Suns have time to comfortably cycle through these layers — also the value that a floor spacing five can have for this team to counter coverages.
A la Steve Nash and Chris Paul, Beal “Nash dribbles” under the basket and drags two Hawks into each other here, freeing himself for the middy pull-up.
My favorite of these reps shows the advantage creation external of Beal but stemming from his gravity.
Walker Kessler overreacts to Beal’s route, so Mason Plumlee keeps it like a quarterback would with play action in football. Then, it becomes a 4v3 to the right side of the floor.
Plumlee takes the deep paint touch and gets the defense in rotation with the corner kick.
Booker and Grayson Allen are spaced well to exacerbate the rotations Utah is tasked with executing.
These simple yet downhill-based quick hitters create points of attack via dynamic touches that the Suns need to lean into more frequently when featuring Beal as the primary option for action.
Advantage creation with Oso
In the last installment of my Notebook series, I implored for more Oso Ighodaro minutes off the merit shown in the small sample size of minutes he’d been presented with Kevin Durant on the floor (and Ryan Dunn).
Since then, Ighodaro started a half for the Suns and closed a few games in the recent stretch.
He’s been a pace-changing piece on both ends of the floor, all rooted in his skill and versatility that play in a complementary way.
Those reasons and more are why Phoenix (still) has its best non-garbage time net when he’s on the floor of the players playing 450+ minutes this season, at +8.0 (85th percentile rank across the league).
The offense gets 3.4 points per 100 possessions better when he’s on the floor, while the defense gets 4.6 points better.
The Suns have created, maintained and/or executed within advantages best with Ighodaro on the floor offensively.
His decision making is snappy, and his play in pick-and-roll connects as he either plays well in the pocket off Booker and Durant two-to-the-ball scenarios, in the 4v3 advantage that stems from it, or sets good space screens that get them to turn the corner and enable him to get out of the screen and into the roll with his fleet-footed youthfulness.
Even more, he’s a solution finder on the periphery, and the game against Atlanta presented examples of just that. In moments a primary or sometimes even a secondary action defended well and the offense would hit a snag, Ighodaro did something to connect the dots and create new advantage.
I want to note the Suns spacing on this first example. It’s “corner filled” at the bottom with Ighodaro in the dunker and Allen deep in that same corner.
Because Beal clears to the weak side, that removes a layer of Atlanta’s help defense and opens the wing area, where Durant ghost screens into. That prompts Allen’s man, Bogdan Bogdanovic, to make an emergency rotation from a greater distance than normal. Knowing he’s leaving a shooter to help on-ball, he gives Durant a “no corner closeout,” attempting to keep the ball from getting to the corner cleanly.
Durant’s height (again) benefits him here, and he’s able to make a clean plus-1 pass to the corner.
As soon as Durant ghosts and Bogdanovic leaves the corner, watch Ighodaro’s prompt directing for the corner kick, as he sets the pin-in to stagnate the rotation just enough for the advantage to be set, and Allen hits the three.
It’s more of Ighodaro answering the “and then what?” part of the Suns’ offense.
They work to get Trae Young to switch onto Beal or Booker on this rep, to no avail, ultimately bleeding away the shot clock more than anything.
When Booker has it in the deep corner versus Dyson Daniels, Atlanta’s best defender and an All-NBA 1st team defender by many accounts this season, the flow hits a stalemate, as no advantage had been created and there’s been minimal player/ball movement.
Here comes the Ighodaro value. Rather than cueing Tupac’s “All Eyez on Me” with the rest of the offense as they’ve often done, watching Booker put his shot-making cape on to work in stagnant isolation, watch Ighodaro assess the landscape.
He processes how he’s being guarded, sees Garrison Matthews begin to load up in the gap to the left of Booker, and promptly creates a new advantage, via the flare for Allen.
Salute to the Suns’ re-spacing process, as both Beal and Monte Morris stay in the opposite corner, keeping the wing clear for the flare and stretching the Hawks’ help rotations.
Offense in the modern NBA is a fight for space and a fight for how many advantages an offense can create within 24 seconds. Even more, especially after an initial or secondary action breaks down, how quickly can players do so in read-and-react scenarios? Ighodaro’s processing speed excels in these respects.
From sideline out of bounds (SLOB) here, Ighodaro simply doesn’t stop working to create advantage.
Initial action creates nothing. Then, there’s a subtle peak from him to see where and what his defender’s doing. As he notices he’s lagging back, watch him flow into this pin-in for Durant — another off-script screen set off-ball.
The result is Durant now holding two to the ball, but especially fully engaging Onyeka Okongwu.
Action now becomes pick-and-roll adjacent, as Ighodaro flows into the short-roll, Durant’s created advantage off a single dribble and pocket pass, and because that’s the opposite power forward and center compromised in action, Ighodaro is left with smaller defenders attempting to slow him at the rim, and he caps the action with an exclamation point.
Lastly, I’ll speak to how he’s been guarded of late. Atlanta plays in “center field” coverage, which essentially means that they won’t leave the paint unless there’s a primary action with specific ball handlers involved (Durant or Booker). So, even if Ighodaro screened in action, as we saw, they remained hovering around the paint outside of the last rep where we highlighted Okongwu being engaged and how that opened the wickets for downhill advantage.
How he’s guarded and how he takes that and flips it into an advantage for the Suns flow is key. Again, a solution finder.
To that point, something of note to keep tabs on with Ighodaro (especially as his minute total upticks) will be teams stashing bigger wings on him, especially because he doesn’t have a back-to-the-basket game at the moment.
Take the Suns’ game against Charlotte recently.
In his first shift, the Hornets were okay with stashing Miles Bridges on Ighodaro and Mark Williams on Tyus Jones.
With Jones, I’m watching closely how teams treat him because his shooting, which was at 30.0% from deep since returning from illness prior to Tuesday night’s game, hasn’t been there. If more teams are comfortable stashing a big on him in pockets of games, that makes life harder on Ighodaro as it takes away one of his advantage creation points, via short-rolls. It’s a domino effect.
See how that plays out, and why it’s important for Jones to make his catch-and-shoots against these cross-matching coverages.
Next possession, Charlotte stashes Williams on Beal, and watch how the offensive flow hits a snag.
Ighodaro wants to screen initially, but Booker waives him off as that’d just be a switch. He elects for Beal to bring the big, Williams, into action and do so away from help so that Charlotte can’t switch their way out of it.
It doesn’t end well though as Williams works to not concede the switch on Booker, then does well in space versus Beal to the stop.
Here, it’s both Ighodaro and Dunn cross-matched onto by Charlotte. Durant navigates to a tough shot, but there is no movement, and the only advantage created is the ball leaving Durant’s hands — an ultimate trump card that you don’t want to lean too heavily on too often.
In all, Ighodaro is simply never not doing something conducive to a positive result for the Suns and that’s the type of activity needed, matched with a quick-witted IQ, that’s needed for this team on the margins.
Durant’s post-up uptick
One element of the Suns’ offense that I feel has been underutilized, even with success earlier in the season, is Durant’s post touches.
Naturally, if you think about Durant ever having the ball, he’s in a position to score first and foremost, and second for that matter.
However, when factoring in just how much attention his post touches garner, and how the attention they garner plays to the shot types that the Suns value most, it’s a perfect marriage resulting in an action that serves dual purposes.
On the season, Durant has 90 possessions with a post touch (including passes out of the post), per Synergy. That ranks 23rd most in their database.
Of the 31 players who have at least 50 possessions of such compiled this season, Durant’s 1.200 PPP (points per possession) mark ranks third in the NBA.
He only trails Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis in players who can claim a more efficient post-up touch and process than his.
When applying the context of how much he’s doubled and what he’s passing into at times, in comparison to Boston, you see that Durant’s touches in the post area are simply, still, some of the most efficient offense in the entire NBA.
One main reason why, of course, is that opponents simply cannot bank on 1v1 coverage as a viable option.
Of the 33 players with 40+ possessions with an individual scoring post up touch (i.e. not including passes), Durant is the king with an efficient 1.189 points per possession mark registered, and a score percentage of 58.5%.
Opponents are truly damned if they do send a double with how well he’s passed out of it and how the Suns’ process around him has evolved, and damned if they don’t because his scoring rhythm and the impact it then has on a game compounds.
Walk with me, and let’s take a look at what was Phoenix’s best game process to date through the post, in Sunday’s home win over Charlotte.
What’s different here? For one, they’re using Durant with a better balance in both post positions, also sprinkling in nail isolation touches, which are post-up-adjacent as many of their principles remain the same.
Generally, the point above emphasizes the value in the Suns moving his touches around the floor, to tilt and manipulate the court balance in their favor.
Booker spaced at the top of the key makes the double from him to Durant have to cover more ground, adding a protection layer for both of them.
Additionally, as Beal syncs up the 45-cut with Durant’s pass out of the post, where he cut from in relation to Booker, makes that next rotation have to cover more ground.
The example below is a great probe (not a drive to score, but a drive to engage the defense) from Jones and his pace allows for the Suns to re-space well as he flattens the defense. The baseline skip stretches them, and Beal gets an open three-point attempt.
Note how the catch for Durant is moved to the other side of the floor, as mentioned earlier. Additionally, notice Beal is a lot closer to Durant than Booker was on the last possession and their general spacing.
Notice where Ighodaro is spaced, rather than occupying the opposite dunker spot in the freeze frame above. Now also think about how that impacts things in respect to the rep that preceded it.
Now also think about that from the perspective of the defense. The opposing center being in this rotational position, rather than closer to the basket, leads to their defensive flow and trust not being as it typically would.
Beal gets another wide-open three-point attempt, but how? The reaction from LaMelo Ball as the shot is taken identifies plenty.
Charlotte doubles from the top, and the subsequent rotation to cover for Ball leaves, but is supposed to come from the next closest defender.
Ighodaro in the opposite slot undoes Phoenix’s defensive process, then also momentarily cuts simultaneously with Royce O’Neale, which speaks to their eagerness to counter coverage. That cut removes the rotation that Ball is expecting to be there, which is great process from the Suns around and within their spacing.
What Durant does here, entering the post via his own live dribble, is called a “Barkley,” a move made famous by Suns legend, Sir Charles.
Why it’s effective is, because no pass is involved, it can stagnate the cadence the defense wants to double at, leading to subsequent mistakes in rotation, as we see here.
I really enjoyed this live. Start with the catch-point for Durant. Because it’s tighter to the baseline, knowing the double is coming from the nearest top-side defender, it creates more distance for that rotation to cover.
Additionally, it also provides a better vantage point for Durant to see the floor from.
I mentioned Ball anticipating the pass from Durant going back to the passer earlier and this is where the manipulation takes on another layer.
Durant gets off the ball a bit quicker, and burns the Hornets’ eagerness with the topside rotation by spraying it to the opposite 45.
Notice the beautiful spacing from the Suns, how much more ground each Hornets rotation has to cover because of it, then the ball movement in tandem with Ighodaro again, adding advantage with the subtle screen to delay Richards’ rotation.
It’s a miss, but the shot quality stemming from the sharpness in process makes this a great rep.
Here, the “next” rotation for Charlotte is late from Josh Green, but Allen aids Durant in cutting the distance down in sliding as his man leaves to double, making Green’s rotation that much longer and giving Allen himself time to shoot.
This camera angle from the opposite baseline gives an even better perspective to what I’m speaking to. The space and time created by the subtle shift from Allen, combined with Green’s slight tardiness, is everything.
This rep is an example of the strain this puts on opponents, as they have to concede to defending in rotation which is hard enough. That becomes even harder when it’s not the same cadence every rep, comes from multiple spots on the floor and the steps in it can’t be cheated without repercussions.
Subtle but effective, now they use Durant as a screener for Beal to have Ball — a deemed “Waldo” or preferred matchup — directly defending Durant off the switch.
As Charlotte then doubles, Durant sprays to Beal, Beal to Allen, and because of the cadence, Miller is now in conflict as he needs to get to Allen but knows O’Neale is in the corner, so tries to buy time with the “no corner closeout,” and Allen promptly baits that and pulls, for three more.
The stress and strain takes a toll on defenses when having to defend in rotation, in this context, so often.
What’s great is the Suns wouldn’t let them off the hook, which is a tell-tell sign for me in their process re-aligning with why they were so dominant earlier in the season.
Picking back up in the fourth, after the Suns’ offense lost its way some, they come back to what Charlotte showed they had no answer for.
The ball movement of the Suns is now simply moving faster than the rotations for Charlotte, and O’Neale finds a backside open three — a precursor to the dagger to come.
Patience is the key here – not being robotic in doing the same thing repeatedly, or archaic as if there’s only one option in play.
Charlotte doesn’t double on the catch this time, either. Rather, they double on the first dribble, attempting to play chess defensively.
Durant kicks it out mid-stunt from Miller, and Beal allows Durant to re-post before clear-cutting to remove the doubling defender.
Durant now has space to dance, and as we spoke to earlier, damned if you do double as the Suns make you pay, damned if you don’t as the re-post now becomes isolation for Durant and he’s the most efficient scorer in this context in the NBA — scoring 55.2% of the time, 4.2% more often than second best Giannis Antetokounmpo, and 5.0% above third best Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, per Synergy.
The chess continues as Bridges works to front the post.
Ighodaro’s IQ and value shine here as his flash to the free throw line releases the pressure on Durant. As Ighodaro’s matchup, Williams has to guard the ball on the catch, which removes the bottom layer of help from when Bridges was fronting Durant.
They get it to the post now, and this is where the mental stamina in discipline needed to defend well across a high volume of possessions, attrition if you will, works in favor of the Suns.
They undo the rotations from Charlotte, a half-double team is sent, no rotation follows that double, and Ighodaro is wide open under the basket for a dunk.
Lastly, for the dagger, it’s the Suns’ patience again.
Hornets coach Charles Lee waits until there are just seven seconds left on the shot clock to send this double, hoping to leave the Suns without time to create within the advantage, but the Suns are sharp.
The cadence of ball movement and how Charlotte was never able to get a beat on or keep up with, speaks to how great the Suns are when the ball is hopping around the court with intent.
At the forefront of all of it is one of the most efficient and effective offensive players to ever grace the hardwood, but also using him in a context of play that’s one of the most efficient, effective and devastating in the league.
Durant’s post-ups are the Suns’ best trigger offensively to strain a defense and force them to defend in rotation and truly dictate to their opponents.
This conversation was from last season, but holds true and you can tell just how comfortable Durant is in this context of play.
It can be the Suns’ proverbial fastball or their change-up, which is their best method of inverting play offensively, and puts the rest of the players on the roster in positions where they’re most successful — in catch-and-shoot or catch-and-drive scenarios with a defense already rotating, while also having Durant in a position where he can score or pass at the inception point.
It also truly operates as an offense in and of itself, that can take on many different looks in spacing, both in respect to a defense’s strengths or to dictate what terms the games will be played on to opponents.
This context of offense is one the Suns need to lean into even more and continue to evolve their process in, as they’ve been at their best when the ball is in Durant’s hands, in the contexts of play where he’s made himself one of the best ever.
The mid-post, low-post, and from his nail isolation touches which are post-up-adjacent.
Film session
Ryan Dunn has played well and been a spark for the Suns in their starting unit.
Take a look at what worked so well for him leading up to the promotion in role, as many of these things have seen him double down productively in the starting unit.
Of note
- Grayson Allen is shooting 55% from three on 5.7 attempts in seven games since returning from injury, averaging 12.4 PPG. (https://x.com/StephenPG3/status/1878159205791625644)
- In three of their last four games, Phoenix has registered an offensive rating of 120.0+, with the odd game out being a 117.0 showing in Atlanta on Monday. It is indicative of the better direction and organization they’ve enjoyed through detail. Yes, the Suns’ opponents in this stretch were all bottom third defensively, but to see their process begin to surface and sustain suggests they’re finding their footing.
- The Suns new starting lineup, through five games together: 111.5 offensive rating, 88.7 defensive rating, and +22.8 Net in 56 minutes. Phoenix is 4-2 in this window.
- Devin Booker’s last three games: 33 PPG on 17-for-28 from two (60.7%), 17-for-35 from three (49%).
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