Phoenix Suns: 5 areas in need of major improvement early on

After an uncomfortably familiar start to the 2018-19 NBA season, here are five specific things the Phoenix Suns need to address to avoid another lost year.

The Phoenix Suns may have started their 2018-19 season on a promising note in their home opener, but it’s been all downhill since then. Following a rousing 21-point win over the Dallas Mavericks, Igor Kokoskov’s squad has dropped seven straight games.

Aside from owning the NBA’s longest active losing streak, the Suns also have the league’s worst point differential (-14.0), are tied for the worst record (1-7) and join the Washington Wizards as the only two teams to rank in the bottom five for both offensive and defensive rating.

The worst part is the eye test. After only eight games under a new head coach, the Suns have largely looked inept, putting forth lackluster effort, allowing opponent leads snowball and displaying poor body language throughout.

That took a turn for the better Friday night, when Kokoskov changed up his lineup a bit, Devin Booker returned to action and the Suns were competitive for three-quarters of the game against a superior Toronto Raptors side. Following up six straight games that were basically over by halftime, even this nine-point home loss was a step in the right direction.

However, with Phoenix rapidly looking like the worst team in the Western Conference by a significant margin, there are quite a few important areas that need to be addressed moving forward (aside from the obvious need to trade for a point guard, of course).

From rotation changes to a couple of specific issues that need to become points of emphasis, here are five major improvements for the Phoenix Suns.