Phoenix Suns: Progress Won’t Come Until Defense Improves
Historically, the Phoenix Suns have been a run-n-gun team whose success has always been predicated on a high-powered offense. According to Basketball-Reference, the Suns have had a top-10 ranked offense in 28 of their 47 full seasons in the NBA, and have been ranked in the top 10 for pace in 41 of those seasons.
From the days of Dick Van Arsdale to Walter Davis to Charles Barkley to Steve Nash, this franchise has always thrived by placing an emphasis on fast-paced, high scoring offenses. Unfortunately, that philosophy has resulted in exactly zero championships.
The 2015-16 Suns certainly won’t be challenging for a title this season, but perhaps now more than ever before, the emphasis needs to be shifted from the offensive end of the floor to the defensive end — not only because defense wins championships, but because Phoenix actually has the personnel to put a top-10 defense on the floor for the first time since 2000-01.
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Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case 16 games into the new season, with the Suns’ latest game against the undefeated Golden State Warriors serving as a brutally punishing reminder that Phoenix’s D still needs major work.
In a 19-point rout on Friday, the Suns allowed the Dubs to set a new season high in points scored (135), a new Golden State franchise record for three-pointers made in a single game (22) and an NBA record for three-pointers made in a single half (15).
Despite putting up 57 points in the first half, the Suns found themselves down by 18 at the break because they gave up 75 points through two quarters.
"“You’ve got to give them credit,” head coach Jeff Hornacek said. “They still got to put it in the hole, but our defense wasn’t there putting any pressure on them. We were never up into anybody. We were always one arm length away and that’s what they want.”"
Obviously using the league’s best team and the greatest shooter of all time is not a fair barometer to measure a defense by, but the Suns are still ranked No. 21 in defensive rating (103.5 points per 100 possessions), No. 25 in points allowed (105.4 per game) and No. 28 in opponent field goal percentage (46.8 percent).
To really drive home the point, the Suns also rank 28th in opponent fast break points allowed (16.1 per game), 22nd in point paints allowed (43.1 per game) and 24th in opponent three-point percentage (36.9 percent). The transition defense in particular has been virtually non-existent at times.
Obviously a matchup against a Warriors team that drilled 58 percent of their 38 threes didn’t skew the numbers in Phoenix’s favor, but even before that season-worst defensive performance, the Suns were a bottom-10 defense by almost every available metric.
All through the summer, Hornacek, general manager Ryan McDonough and the players themselves iterated and reiterated how defense needed to be their calling card this season. After re-signing Brandon Knight and adding Tyson Chandler to a defensive core that already featured Eric Bledsoe and P.J. Tucker, the Suns were supposed to be much better than this.
“I think our guys have gotten to the point where they’re just trying to score and not worrying about the other end and we’ve given up a lot of points during this stretch,” Hornacek said after the Warriors game.
“We got to win games with our defense. Our offense will get enough points. A team like that, who is undefeated world champs, you’ve got to make things tough for them. We didn’t do that. Their shots were pretty much wide open.”
Stephen Curry‘s once-in-a-generation shooting abilities obviously made it a little easier for the Warriors to find open shots, but often times, it was a simple matter of effort. In transition, Bledsoe, Knight and Ronnie Price were often too far out of the play or trying to cover for someone else’s assignment to stay right with Curry as needed.
When Phoenix surrendered offensive rebounds, the Suns’ defense got caught ball-watching the shot too many times, allowing Curry to slyly shift over a few paces and immediately become wide open. From there it was practically a layup for the league’s reigning MVP:
It’s not just the crafty Curry who has done this to the Suns this year, however. When locked in, Bledsoe is as bullish a perimeter defender as they come, but too often he loses focus and exerts too much energy on offense to stay locked in on defense. He regularly takes plays off, sliding way too far off his man only to realize too late that his guy has become wide open.
Knight is an energetic competitor on the defensive end, but he’s also prone to losing his man in the context of a team defense that’s still struggling to find its chemistry. While guarding a spot-up shooter like Klay Thompson, Knight got caught on back screens too many times chasing him around the court.
After taking a few licks early in the game, it became all too easy for the defense to get demoralized and lazy. Twice last night P.J. Tucker’s man streaked right on by him on the break for easy layups, prompting Hornacek to sub him out in favor of T.J. Warren.
Warren finished with a career-high 28 points on 12-of-16 shooting, but before Suns fans go back to their “Start T.J.!” rallying cry, it’s worth remembering that the Suns’ problem remains its lack of defensive intensity. That trend has been prevalent through their four-game losing streak, with Phoenix surrendering 122 points, 98 points, 120 points and 135 points over that stretch.
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Not having Tyson Chandler for a few games this season, including most of Friday’s game after leaving in the first half with a strained hamstring, isn’t an excuse either. Most nights, it’s just a lack of focus that’s weighing on this team’s defensive flaws, but a lack of consistency in Hornacek’s rotations probably hasn’t made things easier either.
With the Warriors championing the small-ball cause, the Suns countered with small-ball lineups of their own that featured Mirza Teletovic or Jon Leuer playing the 5. According to Curry, that tactic of trying to match the Warriors’ small-ball style may have actually backfired.
“We obviously made a lot of shots with our ball movement and just making the right play,” he said. “I’m sure they hadn’t really had a lot of experience playing defense with a lot of the lineups they threw out there too, so it kind of goes both ways.”
Over the last few games, Chandler and backup Alex Len have seen limited time due to injuries and a slew of opponents that’s forced Phoenix to go small. But at this time, the lineups featuring Teletovic or Markieff Morris playing at the 5 just haven’t worked well.
In any case, until Phoenix finds a little more consistency and effort on the defensive end, this four-game losing streak will continue. As the Suns head out on a six-game road trip with a 7-9 record, now is the time to abandon the foolish notion that this team can get by with lazy defensive effort and simply outgun its opponents.
Next: NBA Power Rankings: Week 5
If the Suns want to reach their fullest potential in 2015-16, if they want to avoid a franchise-worst six-year playoff drought, or even if they just want to get back to .500, there’s never been a better time to buck a 47-year franchise trend and start letting the defense win games.