Phoenix Suns: An Elite Defensive Ceiling?

The Phoenix Suns are on a hot defensive streak, leading me to wonder whether they can become an elite defensive team

When we think about the Phoenix Suns, most of us don’t nobody thinks about the quality of their defense. Simply put, they don’t get much credit because of their record and because of the pace they play. It’s hard to get much attention when you’re allowing 103.6 points per game, 26th in the NBA. But, as the team has grown closer and has fought through adversity, something strange has happened. The Suns are looking like they could have an elite defense some day.

First, let’s take a look at what makes an elite defense. This is by no means all-encompassing, but just general talents that all elite defensive teams can boast.

• Rim Protector
• Strong Defensive Rebounding
• Two Strong On-Ball Perimeter Players
• Athletic, Flexible Wings

Now, let’s see how the Suns fare in those categories to see if they indeed have an elite defense brewing.

RIM PROTECTOR

The Suns starting center and best rim protector is Alex Len. The 7-foot-1 center out of the University of Maryland is really in his first full season in the NBA, after battling injuries last season that limited him to just 362 minutes. This season, he’s blossomed into a serviceable center — though his 5.1 fouls per-36 minutes have kept him off the court more than anyone would have liked. Even with that, Len is averaging 2.5 blocks per-36, and ranks No. 4 in the NBA in block percentage (5.4).

What’s more important about Len’s game hasn’t been the shots he’s blocked, but the shots he’s changed. Len has been very effective in making life difficult on opposing players this season, keeping opponents a full 6.3 percent beneath their season average inside six feet (opponents shooting 53.4 percent vs. Len, 59.7 percent on season).

Len is still very young, but the 21-year-old from Antratsit, Ukraine has grown by leaps and bounds this season and has the potential to be an elite defensive center in this league. He had a five-game stretch in February where he averaged 9.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.4 blocks in 31.8 minutes. When he can stay on the floor, he produces.

STRONG DEFENSIVE REBOUNDING

For the season, Phoenix is right in the middle of the pack, averaging 32.4 defensive rebounds per game (15th in NBA). Based on percentage, they corral 73.6 percent of available defensive rebounds, good for 21st in the league. They’re average at best as a team, largely because they’re devoid of any solid individual defensive rebounder.

You have to scroll down to No. 34 in the league to find a Suns player, and that’s 6-foot-5 P.J. Tucker, the undersized forward who does everything he can to battle amongst the trees. He’s secured 331 defensive rebounds — 4.9 per game — and is just ahead of 6-foot-10 Markieff Morris (328, 4.6) and 6-foot-1 Eric Bledsoe (321, 4.6).

Too often, the Suns have to rely on rebounding as a unit, with the guards sagging to help out the bigs. For a team that wants to get out in transition, this isn’t a positive. The Suns would much rather have a center/power forward combo that can control the glass and outlet the ball. If I could cherry pick a free agent for the Suns this summer, it would be a veteran rebounder.

TWO STRONG ON-BALL PERIMETER DEFENDERS

Yes, I’m getting a bit greedy here. I’m thinking about the Memphis Grizzlies mold, where they can throw Tony Allen on the superstar and Mike Conley Jr. can check the ball handler. The best teams in the NBA have more than one offensive option and since there are so many pick-and-roll offenses, teams need to be able to switch to be effective.

Coach Jeff Hornacek relies on Tucker and Bledsoe to fill those roles, with Tucker usually getting the dominant scorer and Bledsoe attacking the ball handler. This is a tough one to gauge, though, because all too often, Tucker and Bledsoe have done everything they can, only to see poor communication and poor rotations around them, leading to easy baskets.

Then again, we get situations like the last few nights, when Tucker held James Harden to 5-for-19 from the field and allowed him just five trips to the foul line. Last night against the Dallas Mavericks, Tucker harassed Monta Ellis into one of his poorest games of the season, shooting just 4-for-22.

Tucker has seen moderate success defending out to the 3-point line, where opponents shoot 4.7 percent worse than their average against him. Bledsoe has held opponents to 1.0 percent worse than their average. Would the tandem of Tucker and Bledsoe be considered one of the top-5 in the league? No, but they’re better than average — my only fear is that Tucker has hit his ceiling and Bledsoe isn’t far from it defensively.

ATHLETIC, FLEXIBLE WINGS

Having athletic, flexible wings serves two major purposes. The first has to do with rotations. Simply put, if you’ve got athletes on the wings (with good instincts, preferably), they’re going to be able to cover more space and they’re going to be able to do it more quickly.

The Suns are at their best when they’re rotating quickly and are able to trap the ball. NBA teams are prepared for that defense and look to either employ the skip pass or a quick perimeter swing to get back to the open shooter on the opposite corner.

Teams like the San Antonio Spurs are masters in this situation, because once they get to the opposite wing (usually a guy like Manu Ginobili or Boris Diaw), they’re smart enough to know that a defense can over-rotate and pass the guy in the paint, leaving him open for a layup. If they’re slow to rotate, the ball swings to the corner for an open three.

This brings me to the flexibility on the wing. The Suns have the luxury of playing 6-foot-9 Marcus Morris, 6-foot-10 Markieff Morris and 6-foot-9 Brandan Wright at the forward positions. With their collective length and quickness, they can not only cover ground quickly, but they can avoid getting into bad mismatches where the offense can abuse them.

Inevitably, switches are going to happen. The Suns have done a pretty good job of avoiding those spots where the rotations break down and a guy like Bledsoe is defending a power forward or center. Is it ideal to have either Morris Twin or Wright on a center or point guard? Of course not, but it’s also not an instant bucket for the opposition.

THE VERDICT

I think we can all agree that the Suns are not an elite defense right now — that was never in question. However, I do want to throw out a couple of tidbits here.

• Last 9 games, allowing 41.7 percent from the field (No. 2 in NBA)
• Last 9 games, allowing 33.3 percent from 3-point line (No. 8 in NBA)

Of course, if the Suns offense allows their opponent to shoot 20 more FG’s than they do (as happened last night) and if they’re unable to secure defensive rebounds, those gaudy defensive numbers won’t matter. The only thing that determines whether a defensive possession is successful is regaining possession.

Are the Suns on track to being elite? Yeah, they are. More consistency on offense will take some pressure off of the defense, bringing in a veteran rebounder will help secure the glass and another year of growth from Len, Bledsoe and Tucker will make those “last nine” numbers turn into a season-long trend.

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