The Phoenix Suns look to be in trouble this season, as their all-in moves haven't led to the success they wanted. Bradley Beal has barely played and has been plagued with injuries, and the Suns have a roster with minimal depth beyond their stars, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
Their current record of 14-13 has caused ESPN to call them soft, with Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon saying they need to show toughness on the court.
"I can't put my finger on this team. Something is missing and it has nothing to do with basketball. I don't know their team, those individuals, but there's a grit factor. They have competitive guys, but something I can't put my finger on it... It's not a skill-set problem. Alright, get in there and dirty the sheets. Go in there and mix it up. but that could be the grittiness and toughness that I'm talking about. Take a punch, get the frick back up, and go hit somebody."
Kendrick Perkins was the one to start calling the Suns soft on the show and said that the entire NBA knows that the team does not respond well to physicality. Hammon agreed with him before making her point about them needing to just hit someone to show some fire. Perkins also brought up how opposing teams attack the glass and the rim, along with plays they run to exploit the Suns' weaknesses.
The roster is going to be what it is, with minimal changes possible through the buyout market. The Suns have absolutely no assets left to trade, so they need to hope that after Beal returns to the court, the trio can enjoy a sustained run with no injuries to live up to the championship expectations people had of them.
The Suns Don't Have The Pieces Needed For A Title
Everyone has been talking about the transcendent offensive duo Booker and Durant, with the addition of Beal making them even scarier. However, it's not worked out as well as hoped. Booker is averaging 27.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 8.2 assists, trying to run point guard responsibilities for the team that lost Chris Paul to get Beal. Durant is averaging 31.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.6 assists, delivering on his billing as one of the best scorers in the NBA.
The problem isn't Booker or Durant. It is that the Suns hired a defensive coach in Frank Vogel and didn't give him any real defensive piece to try and build a system around. The offense has struggled with late-game execution, with Booker struggling to perform at a high level while playing out of position as the Suns' primary playmaker. This team needs a point guard to set the table for everyone, proving that the Beal move might have been premature,
There's no way of moving Beal due to his no-trade clause, and there's no way the Suns trade Durant or Booker. They're stuck with this core trio, with Jusuf Nurkic being a serviceable center. But the minimum-level wings across the roster cannot defend at a high enough level.
A starting five with Booker, Beal, Grayson Allen, Durant, and Nurkic is solid, but there isn't much depth behind those five. They will be in the playoff mix based on offensive talent alone, but if they want to be title contenders, they need a proper defensive enforcer who can protect the stars as well as hold his own.
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