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Phoenix Suns: 5 Early Season Takeaways

By Gerald Bourguet

Nov 16, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) walks off the court after being ejected from the game during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 120-104. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 16, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) walks off the court after being ejected from the game during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 120-104. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /
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Fifteen games into the 2016-17 NBA season, what have we learned about the struggling Phoenix Suns? Here are the five biggest takeaways.

Phoenix Suns
Nov 16, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) walks off the court after being ejected from the game during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 120-104. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /

About one month into the 2016-17 NBA season, the Phoenix Suns haven’t thrown many surprises our way. Projected to win fewer than 30 games after winning just 23 in 2015-16, this young team and its rookie head coach were primarily concerned with developing the youth rather than chasing a bottom-rung playoff spot.

After 15 games, it’s safe to say the 4-11 Suns don’t need to worry about the 2017 NBA Playoffs; they’re almost certainly heading for a seventh straight season in the draft lottery.

But even with such lowered expectations, there’s a reason they don’t call them “growing pleasures,” since the early growing pains of this team haven’t been easy to stomach.

Whether it’s the young players not playing enough, the returns of Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight yielding very few victories, or the early struggles of future franchise cornerstones, the Suns have been about as hard to watch as anyone expected.

It’s not all bad news, but as we head into the second month of the NBA calendar, it’s time to take a look at the five biggest early season takeaways for the Phoenix Suns and their ongoing youth movement.

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