Are Suns Already in Better Spot Than Last Season?

The Phoenix Suns have been one of the surprise teams in the NBA so far this season, as they now boast a 7-5 record, which is good for seventh in the West, after last night's 123-114 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Despite really low preseason expectations and Jalen Green being out for all but two games so far, Phoenix is 6-1 in its last seven games and has no signs of slowing down as it heads into tonight's matchup against the 1-10 Indiana Pacers.

There have already been a lot of comparisons between last season's Suns team that finished 36-46 despite having Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal and this year's team because of all the drama from last season and the big changes Phoenix made over the summer.

How Do Suns Compare to Last Season?

It's easy to remember how disappointing the back half of last season was for the Suns, but they did start off the year 8-1 until Durant suffered an ankle injury which seemed to turn the good fortune of the start of the season completely around.

Through 12 games last year, the Suns were 9-3 but still in the middle of the pack in a lot of statistical areas with an average point differential on the year of just 0.5 because they played in a lot of close games, but were clutch down the stretch.

This season, the Suns have an average point differential of 2.4 and their six wins during this seven-game stretch have all been by nine or more points, but all but one win have come against teams under .500.

One similarity in both years is that the Suns started off hot from downtown, as they rank in the top-5 in 3-pointers made per game currently, just as they did through 12 games a season ago,

Suns guard Grayson Allen shared his thoughts on how the two seasons compare after Monday's 121-98 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

"I want to be careful about comparing this team to last year because it's so different," Allen said (via The Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin). "Last year, we had a great start to the year. Our energy was great. Everyone was having fun playing. Around this time last year, things were going awesome. Vibes were great. It was a fun way to play basketball.

"We were getting wins, but this group, this year, the way we're playing and the way our defense is connected to our offense, and we're relying on each other, five guys offensively and defensively. The activity is extremely high. The energy is extremely high on the court and on the bench."