Phoenix Suns deep in NBA’s trend of versatile, uniquely sized lineups

PHOENIX — There is a very cool shift happening in the NBA with positional flexibility, and the Phoenix Suns are square in the orbit of it.

The transition from rugged power forwards to modern wings has redefined what that role is. There aren’t many old-school two-guards anymore, either. It’s led to this freedom that teams are leaning into beyond having a lead guard and a center in their starting lineups. What is between those slices of bread varies, and the juxtaposition between rosters and their approaches is fascinating.

While noting that each of these three-guard lineups has different traits, it’s decidedly that kind of look for Memphis, Oklahoma City, Phoenix and Sacramento in the starting lineup.

That’ll lead to unique matchups for whoever the “3” is, like 6-foot-6 Desmond Bane against 6-foot-10 Michael Porter Jr. or 186-pound Alex Caruso versus 225-pound Jonathan Kuminga. It’s legitimately difficult to label a definitive position for any of those four guys given the responsibilities they have with the skill sets they have. Porter in some ways plays like Tim Thomas, Bane is too small to be a wing as an on-ball guard anyway, Caruso’s a guard-sized Bruce Bowen and Kuminga’s almost like a slashing small-ball 5.

The New Orleans Pelicans, armed with a talented yet imbalanced roster, are taking it as far as potentially starting without a center entirely. 6-foot-7, 206-pound wing Herb Jones will be their center if we’re considering his role on the offensive side of the ball.

“Crazy, right?” 18-year vet Kevin Durant said of the positional dynamics.

And while the Thunder will go with three guards, their fully healthy starting five will include two bigs, a rarity these days. There are so many more examples like this across the league.

The traditionalism is dying, and that’s before getting to how radically different some “lead guards” and “centers” can be from team to team. Is one method better than the other? It has less to do with that and more to do with the state of today’s game embracing rapid change with open arms.

Durant loves it.

“Just love the way the game of basketball is going, almost positionless, so many guys can do different things,” Durant said. “You seeing coaches emphasizing their 5s playing some point guard throughout the game, bringing the ball up and initiating the offense. You got small-ball guys, you got tall traditional guys, you got bigger teams. … I just think the versatility around our league just shows that the brand of basketball and the skill of basketball has developed over time and we continue pushing the game forward.”

Phoenix will open the season starting 6-foot-1 point guard Tyus Jones, 6-foot-6 guard Devin Booker, 6-foot-4 Bradley Beal, 6-foot-11 Kevin Durant and 7-footer Jusuf Nurkic. By height, it’s not too bad, but Durant is the unicorn of all unicorn 4s while all three guards are both sturdy and lacking the serious bulk of someone like Bane or Marcus Smart in Memphis.

Most of the hyper-analyzing within what this does for the Suns won’t be too relevant until the postseason, when physicality ramps up and the possession-to-possession basis of a game is greatly magnified.

But it does mean they have to be aware of it right now.

A test run of sorts occurred last year without Jones and with 6-foot-4 Grayson Allen, who probably uncoincidentally has put on serious muscle to get up to 235 pounds. Allen, Beal and Booker all took turns taking on the most taxing defensive assignment. Some nights that’s a hyper-agile point guard like Ja Morant. Other nights that’s a bowling ball wing like Zion Williamson.

Allen thought the trio did well last year in this regard.

“I thought it was actually really good,” he said. “I thought we were pretty good defensively as a group. Brad and Book, I obviously know now (but) last year I was a little surprised and impressed by how good of defenders they are. Brad specifically in the second half of the year once he was healthy and in the full swing of things, he was really, really good on-ball defensively. Guarding smaller, faster guys (and) guarding bigger guys.

“I think we have guys that — even though Brad’s not known as a defender, Book’s not known as a defender because they’re such good scorers (but) we have guys that can guard. They can guard a bunch of different matchups, I think they did well last year. I think they’re gonna do really well this year too.”

Lost in a sweep versus the Minnesota Timberwolves was Beal competing his ass off defending Anthony Edwards, whose impact on the series was more about explosive stints as opposed to overall dominance.

“I think we’ll be fine with that,” Booker said of the defensive responsibilities on the four perimeter players. “Just holding each other accountable. If teams have the size advantage, we’ll beat ’em with speed.”

To that point, it’s about maximizing the strengths of the team.

“We just wanna play to what it is, play to our strengths and just try to be the best version of us and build from there,” Durant said. “This is a copycat league and you see some stuff that you may implement to your gameplan, but for the most part we want to stick to our identity and be who we are as individuals and who we are as a team and stick to that.”

Allen elaborated on the pros and cons of a smaller lineup.

“The benefits of it, we have really talented guards and wings on this team,” he said. “The benefit is having three really good players out there that can do a little bit of everything offensively. Biggest challenges that come with that is probably rebounding the ball. Some of the bigger matchups, they like to crash three (or) four guys and try to put pressure on us. Limit them to one possession, so that’ll be a big focus for us. It’s not 1-on-1 rebounding, it’s more team rebounding.”

That last part is a big deal and where teams look to capitalize on where the Suns’ limitations lie. Typically, modern philosophies on crashing the glass urge players to get back in transition. But when the opposition lacks size, there is logic in sending more than the traditional one perimeter player for offensive rebounding opportunities.

Booker has always been a capable rebounder and, as you’d expect, knows what the motto is.

“It’s just physicality. Even if you don’t get the rebound, make sure your guy doesn’t,” he said.

Decent reasoning will tell you rebounding is especially where this will bite the smaller teams, but that’s just not the way it is anymore. There are ways to make up for it in other areas, and as Booker said, rebounding is rarely about how big someone is.

It is not a death sentence to go too heavily one way or the other with size because, to Durant’s point, players are so incredibly skilled now that attributes aren’t limited to just a certain size or shape of a player.

“It’s a fast-paced game and every team is preaching getting up quick shots,” Durant said of the change. “Earlier when I came into the league, it was about a slower pace and kind of just controlling the paint a bit. It’s a great transition to spreading the floor out and seeing guys’s full skill packages. It’s been dope as a fan to watch it. It’s been extremely fun as a player to play in it as well.”

And just the same as it was a few decades ago, it’s going to come down to the most well-oiled machine, the team that comes together through a united and connected identity. Whether that’s taking 45 3s a game or operating the hub of an offense through the mid-post. It can be switching everything on defense through length and speed or manning up through overwhelming strength and will. It’s still who does what they do the best.

While the game and what teams “do” is different, what wins them is not going anywhere.

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