Phoenix Suns: 5 takeaways from Week 1 of 2018-19 season

3. The defense is still awful

The Phoenix Suns were the league’s 30th-ranked defense last year, and though we’re not even five games into the 2018-19 campaign, it feels like they’re heading for that territory again.

So far, the Suns are ranked 27th in the NBA with a defensive rating of 115.9. They’re ranked 24th in steals and 28th in blocks, hinting at their lack of perimeter pressure and rim protection inside. It’s not surprising to see them giving up 58.0 points in the paint per game, the third-highest average in the association.

"“They can see themselves on the film, our reactions have got to be better,” Kokoskov said. “So if you consider that as effort, it can be better. It’s a game of reaction, our reactions have got to be better, especially on the defensive end when it comes to transition defense.”"

Unfortunately, the transition defense has been atrocious, giving up 26.0 fast break points per game — the most in the NBA. That’s bad news for a team committing the second-most turnovers in the league (18.0 per game), which have led to 22.8 opponent points off turnovers per game (28th).

The Suns’ schedule has done them no favors, with dangerous fast break offenses like the Lakers and Warriors ranked first and second in fast break points, respectively. Still, there’s no doubt the transition defense has to be miles better, as does the defense in general. For a team starting Isaiah Canaan, Devin Booker, Ryan Anderson and a rookie at center, defensive ineptitude is to be expected, but there’s no excuse for a lack of effort.