What is Suns Biggest Question Mark Moving Forward?
PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns have kicked off the unofficial "second half" of the NBA season that follows the NBA All-Star break.
After a troubling start, the Suns found their rhythm heading into the break after winning their last 14-of-18 games to climb up the standings of the West.
Phoenix was unable to start out of the gates with a win as the Dallas Mavericks defeated them last night, though the Suns' overall prospects are promising.
Still - like any other team - there's questions for Phoenix to figure out.
What's the biggest?
Bleacher Report says it's Bradley Beal.
What is Suns Biggest Question Mark Moving Forward?
"The Suns made a significant financial commitment in acquiring Beal from the Washington Wizards (in addition to the draft capital and players sent out), but Beal has only played in 30 of the team's 55 games. Phoenix is a top-heavy team, and Beal will be vital for postseason success," wrote Eric Pincus.
"Fortunately, the injuries haven't been significant (most recently, hamstring soreness). As powerful as Kevin Durant and Devin Booker are as scorers, Beal as the third option rounds out what could be an unstoppable offensive power in the West. The trade-deadline addition of Royce O'Neale gives the team another dependable veteran defender and shooter. Jusuf Nurkić and Grayson Allen have been tremendous this season.
"But coach Frank Vogel needs all of his stars for the postseason—a common thread throughout the league. The NBA playoffs can be a war of attrition. Beal had struggled to stay healthy with the Wizards; Phoenix knew the risk. So far, the results have been mixed, but Beal's availability from April through June is much more important than October through March."
Simply put, the Suns have put all of their eggs in the superstar basket - which is fine, so long as the trio is healthy. Thus far, that hasn't exactly been the case.
It's frustrating for numerous reasons, though Phoenix still has plenty of other questions to answer. A fairly new squad is still finding continuity together, and Frank Vogel's balance (in his first year with the Suns too) of chemistry and rotations as the postseason nears will be interesting to monitor.