Suns could use critical stretch of season to fix defensive issues
Jan 2, 2020, 11:57 AM | Updated: 1:01 pm
Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James (23) goes up to basket under pressure from Phoenix Suns' Deandre Ayton (22) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
(AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Various deficiencies have plagued the Phoenix Suns over a 6-15 stretch the past six weeks.
Injuries got the team out of sorts after they succeeded the most by playing as a unit, a rhythm they haven’t been able to relocate.
Shooting has regressed, question marks at backup point guard and power forward have been further intensified and teams around the league have generally “figured them out.”
All of that, though, while not necessarily preventable, was easy to brace for while keeping the other facets that made this team successful intact.
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The conversation revolving the Valley in the first two weeks of the season when the team started 7-4 was the curious case of a Suns team built on defense. In those 11 games, the Suns were 12th in defensive rating at 105.0 points allowed per 100 possessions.
Since then, they are 27th at 113.9.
The formula for a win total in the 32-41 range for the Suns isn’t anything truly out of this world when it comes to offensive and defensive rating.
A team mostly built for offense finishing somewhere in the top-half of the league or right there close to it, with a defense that can properly support it in the high teens or low 20s, would suffice.
As an example, the 39-win Charlotte Hornets last season were tied for 11th in offensive rating (110.7) and tied for 22nd in defensive rating (112.0). Nothing earth-shattering in either direction, but solid.
But in the last two weeks on Cleaning the Glass’ numbers, the Suns are 15th in offense (111.2) and 29th in defense (119.0).
That has been encapsulated by the team’s last two games, where the Suns gave up 38 and 43 points in the opening quarters, respectively.
The defensive incompetence occurring over such long stretches goes directly to the problem: the Suns were never going to be a good defensive team this season. But, as mentioned earlier, if they can find competency and limit the bad mistakes then there’s enough to build off.
Those first quarters in back-to-back games make that impossible.
Ricky Rubio forgets he’s covering Damian Lillard here.
And on the next possession, Kelly Oubre Jr. has the same happen with C.J. McCollum floating off the ball.
On this possession from Wednesday night in Los Angeles, both Deandre Ayton and Cheick Diallo fail to step in and cut off the rim.
Oubre’s ball-watching escapades continue a bit later here losing Kyle Kuzma.
Lillard had a bonkers first quarter and the Lakers were incredibly locked in for theirs. But while it’s not quite on the level or frequency of the past few years, these slips of terrible defense for an already underperforming group is doom.
This is the perfect time in the season to figure things out. Over the next seven games, the Suns face the New York Knicks (10-24) twice, the Memphis Grizzlies (13-21), Sacramento Kings (12-22), Orlando Magic (15-19), Charlotte Hornets (13-23) and Atlanta Hawks (7-27).
No teams with a winning record and the best offense is Memphis’ at 19th on Cleaning the Glass.
Yes, it’s not only a stretch where they can make up some lost ground, but they can also use it to fix what has been their glaring weakness this season.
