Phoenix Suns: 5 areas for improvement for youngsters

3. Fouling

Another sign of a young team that has a long way to go in its fight to establish respect around the league: The Phoenix Suns are one of the most foul-prone teams in the league.

After an early November matchup where his team committed 25 fouls and sent the Minnesota Timberwolves to the line 35 times, Triano pointed out how often the Suns ruin good defensive possessions by giving away freebies at the charity stripe.

"“Defensively we’re just giving up way too many points, putting teams on the foul line. There’s times when we’ve played pretty good defense and forced teams to take pretty tough shots and then we foul them when they are taking a tough shot. We just have to understand when you’ve done your job and don’t be so aggressive about trying to finish it.”"

Ranking 26th in the league with 22.2 fouls committed per game, many of those fouls bail out opponents with trips to the foul line. Phoenix opponents average 25.5 free throw attempts per game, which is the third-highest mark in the association.

For a young team, Triano says it’s all about figuring out when and how to use those fouls. He wants this young group to bring the tenacity on that end of the floor, but with so much inexperience on the floor, that often leads to players being overly ambitious.

The prime example is Marquese Chriss, whose desire to block shots and make defensive plays make him the safest bet to have two fouls on the scorecard halfway through every first quarter he plays.

Chriss’ team-leading 5.3 fouls per 36 minutes prevent him from staying on the floor long enough to develop, with his playing time coming in fits and spasms. His 98 total fouls rank as the ninth-most in the entire league, with only two players ahead of him — Julius Randle and Kelly Olynyk — playing comparable minutes. (Josh Jackson is not far behind at No. 14 in total fouls.)

"“We’re trying to restrict the number of fouls that he picks up where they’re not good fouls, you’re late on a play, or he jumps too early,” Triano said. “But he’s slowly starting to understand positioning, and how him being in stance and being in the right position are the first two things that will lead to him being able to block shots.”"