Phoenix Suns: Biggest strengths and weaknesses for 2017-18

Strength No. 1: Playing fast

Surprise, surprise: The Phoenix Suns like to play at a fast pace. Even under first-year head coach Earl Watson and Jared Dudley being the only holdover from the Seven Seconds Or Less days, this newest iteration still plays at a breakneck pace.

Last year, Phoenix ranked second in Pace at 102.88, trailing only the Brooklyn Nets. They averaged 107.7 points per game (ranked ninth in the league), with 19.4 of them coming on the fast break (ranked second overall).

For all their defensive issues, the Suns were also pretty effective at turning their opponents over, averaging the sixth-most steals in the league with 8.2 per game. They were able to turn those steals into 17.7 points off turnovers per game, the fourth-most in the league.

Running and gunning is in Phoenix’s DNA, and playing at such a fast pace is a quick way to ratchet up the score. Unfortunately, the way the Suns played fast didn’t really help them win games.