Phoenix Suns: 5 early observations from the Jay Triano era

The Phoenix Suns look like a completely different team under interim head coach Jay Triano. Here are five early observations from the last five games.

After enduring a 48-point smackdown at home on opening night, the Phoenix Suns were immediately and universally written off as an unwatchable team with a failing youth movement.

It was the kind of performance that made even the most loyal of Suns fans question how often they’d tune in to watch this group play, and losses to the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers by a combined 48 points over the next two games made matters worse.

Fortunately, the Suns had seen enough at that point, firing head coach Earl Watson and installing assistant Jay Triano as the interim head coach.

Then a funny thing happened: All the potential Suns fans had been waiting, hoping and possibly giving up on materialized out of thin air.

Phoenix’s 4-1 record under Triano after that infamous 0-3 start is just the tip of the iceberg, but if nothing else, this instantaneous turnaround is a testament to the importance of head coaching in this league.

We’re dealing with a tiny five-game sample size, and no one’s saying the Phoenix Suns are suddenly playoff-bound, but it’s worth taking a look at what — and more specifically, who — has changed for the better since the coaching change.