Suns Climb The Athletic's NBA Power Rankings

"Cause for optimism: Just a ridiculous start to the season for Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns. Things looked a little bleak on opening night until they came back to beat Dallas. Mostly, we’ve just seen the Suns pick apart their opponents like we saw the previous two seasons. 

"Booker’s start not only includes ridiculous numbers and execution, but he also got Klay Thompson to lose his cool and be ejected for the first time in his career. That’s not quite as equally impressive as flirting with 30 points per game on 65 percent true shooting, but it’s a brilliant start nonetheless.

"Cause for concern: Is Chris Paul’s slow start shooting the ball alarming? Probably not because he’s still moving the ball quite well. He has a 6:1 assist-to-turnover ratio on the season. However, it’s very unlike him to be this bad (47.1 percent true shooting … woof!) at making shots. 

"For now, the Suns don’t really need to make him the peak version of CP3 to be successful. Booker can handle the main responsibility, and Deandre Ayton has had a very good start to everything. But eventually Paul is going to need to be reliable when it gets down to the postseason."

The Suns sit just above the Warriors as the only three teams in the category. 

Phoenix hosts Minnesota on Tuesday before Portland visits for a doubleheader on Friday and Saturday.