Suns' Emphasis on Defense Paying Dividends

The Phoenix Suns are honing their defensive potential.

PHOENIX -- There's been plenty to say about the potential of the Phoenix Suns' offense in 2023-24 with star scorers such as Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal at their disposal. 

Through three games (and injuries to two of those three players) the Suns hold a 2-1 record and have played fairly well to start of the regular season. 

While offense will grab the most attention, the Suns' defense has been a major cog to the team's success thus far. 

“So far, so good. The guys have really worked at it, they believe in what we do and in terms of contested shots; you can contest shots if everybody stays guarded. If guys are getting open, it’s tough to have a high-level contest, but they’re executing our scheme at a pretty high level and they’re doing it with a great deal of effort, hustle and scrappiness, which is what we’re asking them to do," said coach Frank Vogel. 

"You can have talent on any basketball team, but if the effort piece is greater than the opponent’s every night, we’re going to be really tough to beat like tonight.”  

Vogel - known for his defensive acumen - was lauded as a defensive mastermind and held promise to balance Phoenix's lethal scoring. Currently, the Suns are No. 5 in the NBA with an average of 102.7 points allowed per game. 

Their defending on the perimeter has also made a difference, as Phoenix holds opponents to just 24.8% shooting from downtown, second only to the New Orleans Pelicans. 

“I think our first three games have been solid defensively. Obviously, we are playing against good teams and great players. They are going to be great players and make shots over you," Kevin Durant said after defeating the Utah Jazz.

"But overall, 43.5 percent from the field and 104 points, it is great basketball on the defensive side. They won last night against a good Clippers team, hitting a lot of threes and offensive rebounding a lot and I think we controlled that a bit. Also, catching them on the back to-back was good for us as well.”

The Suns forced 19 turnovers from Utah and allowed just six points in transition in their second win of the season.

“I think we have played good defense to start the season the first few games pretty good defense," said Grayson Allen.

"We have also had a lead in games that we gave up. I think the third quarter, really fourth quarter too, that was kind of in the back of our minds. We have built a little let’s expand it, bury it and put it away. That was probably a part of the reason why our third quarter was so good. We had that extra little motivation; we had the lead. Let’s finish it.”  

The Suns return home to face the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday.