Stephen’s Notebook, Vol. 7: Suns Switching it up defensively, the Rookie Renaissance, Jones-ing 3’s

The Phoenix Suns have started to find some footing in their 82-game marathon. They are presently 33-37, with an Offensive Rating of 116.4 (8th), 118.0 Defensive Rating (118.0), and a non-garbage time Net of -1.5 (19th) — all per Cleaning the Glass.

Wednesday night’s win over the Chicago Bulls firmly slotted them in ownership of the 10th seed — can they hold on to that? They’re at a point where urgency has to be as high as it’s ever been, and their margin for error remains non-existent.

Here’s some of what caught my attention over the last week of play.

Switching it up, defensively

This recent four-game stretch for the Suns has been a revelation in many ways.

They’ve (finally) shifted their rotation to include more of their defensive-minded, blue collar players and that balance between offensive and defensive-minded players has allowed them to exude much more connected two-way play.

Phoenix’s defense in this window ranks seventh-best in the league, and because they’ve been able to play offensively off more stops and have scored effectively, their opponents have been rendered to spend significantly more time against the Suns’ set defense.

Suns opponents are spending 81.8% of their possessions in the halfcourt, the fifth-best mark in this window. With that has also come a shift in their approach to the defensive end of the floor, leaning into much more switching.

That uptick in their switch rate has come in alignment with their rotation changes.

As Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro have returned to the rotation as mainstays, their versatility has been able to greatly shift the process for the Suns from playing in reaction to their opponents and always playing “catch-up,” to now both dictating and anticipating — with the latter inducing much more activity from their much-maligned defense.

In my second Notebook installment back in mid-November, I spoke in detail about a bookmark moment — against the Orlando Magic — that resonated with me in a way that made me think.

That’s led to me imploring to see them lean more into it with every underwhelming defensive performance since, as it’s been clear they needed at least a change of pace to their defensive approach, if not an all-out shift in process.

Naturally that included the Suns rookies, but Ighodaro in particular as I saw him as the piece that could help better-position everyone else defensively — keeping them from having to execute certain rotations and shifts that plagued them in drop coverage night after night, especially regarding covering rollers.

At its foundation, switching allows for a defense to flatten an opponent’s attack out.

Against screens and handoffs, or even drives and cuts, it helps to neutralize the advantage creation dynamics of an offense’s approach, rendering them to more 1-v-1 and late-clock play.

Earlier in the season, in moments that they did switch, it was more of a surface level, “you take mine, I take yours” tactic. In this recent window, it’s become more nuanced.

As they’ve grown subtly more nuanced with these “switch and double,” “switch to ice” reps, it seems as though they’ll be adding additional layers to that approach, building out a more thorough process.

What that will entail remains to be seen, but I’m inclined to think that involves some elements of cross-matching so that they’re able to go to their switching packages across more lineups that include an athletic, but less fleet-of-foot type of big like Richards.

In turn, that also will lean into the versatility of players like Durant, Martin, Dunn, and O’Neale to “guard up” in taking on bigger matchups, and also covering up for their guards to neutralize post mismatches.

I spoke to some of that in our most recent podcast.

In all, the switching has led to a spark that has seemingly given the Suns new life in an arduous and trying season.

Their defense has only needed to be so good (simply average would do), but that has also required an infusion of versatility to lift it. This has allowed their offense to reach the levels that enable them to exude the team that our expectations (and their cap sheet) suggested they can be.

They have resembled that recently, as much as at any other post-November stretch and it will be tested to the furthest extents in their final 12 games.

The Rookie Renaissance

The Suns rookies were not a part of the main rotation for Mike Budenholzer for quite some time.

In turn, their exit saw the Suns reach and then reside at a season-low point in defensive activity and general energy in games.

Already a veteran-heavy roster (2nd oldest in the NBA at an average age of 28.3 coming into the season), it was clear they would need to lean into the youthful exuberance of their coveted and much-lauded picks of the 2024 NBA Draft.

Breaking up the mundaneness of the 82-game marathon with those two was something I mentioned quite a bit, and when they were on the fringe or not playing at all, I was left perplexed.

There was no reason regarding performance for them to not stake claim to rotation minutes at worst, and their specific skills at their positions were clear advantages that would help connect lineups and unlock depths of versatility needed to make this roster work.

As they’ve returned, and their intriguing individual dynamics have re-integrated and then resonated with their teammates, a belief and trust has (re)surfaced for the team at a pivotal moment of the season.

With Dunn, defending at points of attack and steering the wheel of the Suns’ defensive schemes has been impactful and effective. I detailed a bit of that in my most recent Stephen’s Study from last week, following his return to the lineup against Houston.

Dunn’s invaluableness to this team on the defensive end will continue to take a spotlight for the Suns down the stretch. He also continues to bring specific qualities offensively that help to keep the flow for them.

His willingness to take the shots presented, unabashedly and undeterred by misses, is a sign of trust in his training and confidence, which has extended to above the break three-point attempts for him now too — shooting 43% on 14 attempts there since returning to the rotation.

His quick decision-making has turned into a positive habit that aligns directly with the Suns’ desire in halfcourt tempo.

Also of note, Dunn continues to impress with his drives and getting to his floater/runner — something detailed back in January amidst his ascension into starting.

Per Synergy, 104 players have 40+ attempts of said shot. Though much lower in that group on volume of course, at fifth lowest, his efficiency on said shots (58.5%) ranks sixth. That suggests it’s a shot he can viably lean into even more, and as he does so both via drives and on rolls, it’s a healthy non-three-point shot for the Suns shot profile.

Regarding Ighodaro, his quick decisions offensively keep the Suns in advantage, which Devin Booker detailed recently.

Ighodaro excels at quickly assessing what’s going on around him, and making a decision that doesn’t stagnate things. That IQ is an intangible of the highest value and takes the forefront with a lot of his dynamics on the floor.

In tandem with each other, the rookies create one of the most dynamic duos on the team and have a chemistry that’s undeniable.

I detailed a solid bit of their tandem impact in a Twitter thread over the weekend.

I can’t help but imagine where they’d be in development (and where the team record would be) had they never exited the rotation, but it’s clear they have continued to do the work behind the scenes staying ready, and are playing with an urgency that raises the floor of this Suns team.

I’ll be keeping an eye on how these top-tier teams elect to guard these two, as spoken to in Volume 5 of my Notebook series back in January. They’ll find ways to have an impact regardless (the same goes for Cody Martin too), but it’ll come with newfound hurdles for the team to work through.

Jones-ing the three

Tyus Jones has been a player of much scrutiny over the season.

I noticed a shift in how teams guarded him through the January stretch of games. Mainly it was many more unders in two-man actions, which took his ultimate skill — playmaking in pick-and-roll within the Suns dynamic spacing — off the table in many respects.

Phoenix would counter with their re-screen automatics, often just met with another under and would start to resemble a dance in many respects.

This made me think about what can his impact on this team be if teams are taking his drives, floaters, and playmaking off the board in a “let’s err on him making pull-up threes and being willing to take enough to make us blink” fashion.

That soft coverage matched with teams being willing to shift off him to shrink the floor on Durant and Booker actions, and his lack of defensive abilities, played large in the lulls the team saw. He was overtasked in role, without an outlet viable enough to offset the parts of his game that left more to be desired.

It was a slow process getting to it, but a demotion in role felt inevitable for some time.

As it’s (finally) surfaced, he has responded positively and efficiently. He’s averaging 9.6 points, 4.1 assists, and is shooting 54.2% from deep on nearly five attempts per. More importantly, the Suns are +3.3 in his minutes. That’s a stark difference from the -1.5 in the 59 games that precede this March stretch.

Jones being in the appropriate role for this Suns team, being a steadying hand from the reserve unit, has revived his impact.

122 players have north of 40 attempts from deep this month. Jones’ 54.2% from deep ranks first of that group of players. Also, his 41 assists-to-5 turnovers speak to the impact resurfacing in multiple respects. He’s better-insulated defensively, now featured in lineups with Ighodaro, O’Neale, and Martin — “Blue Collar Boyz” — and that helped to suppress his defensive weaknesses.

For the Suns to peak at the right time, they’ll need this efficient play to sustain. A rotation shift in multiple respects, including with Jones, has made that seem more and more believable.

Trusting the Pass

Phoenix leads the NBA in assists in March (30.3).

They’re 16-11 when they reach the 30 assists mark this season, which would be on par for a ninth-best win percentage. When they get to 31+, they’re 16-6, which is on par with what would be the third-best win percentage. They’ve hit 31 or more assists in seven of their 10 games this month.

A clear formula and a proof of concept has surfaced when they play to certain principles. They generate results that are conducive and align with winning to elite levels.

To make the Play-In and earn a spot in the playoffs, the Suns will have to use Booker and Durant’s tough shot-making and isolation play more sparingly and generate good looks via drive and kicks or off the attention those two receive.

Doing so with tempo and movement in the halfcourt, while also continuing to find pockets to play off stops is where they’ve found success recently.

Of Note

• Phoenix has the fourth-ranked offense since March 13th, and the ninth-best offense in the halfcourt.
• Phoenix is fifth in non-garbage time Net rating since March 13th, at +11.5 — one of only five teams with a double-digit Net in this window.
• Phoenix has eight players averaging two or more assists in March.