Breaking Down Suns' Strengths/Weaknesses

With the roster beginning to take shape, the Phoenix Suns squad have shown highlights and issues.

The Phoenix Suns' roster ahead of the 2023-24 NBA season is nearly complete. With the assembly of new lineups and a brand new scheme, the Suns will look to fill any holes in their attack while playing on the strengths the already talented roster possesses.

An brief overview of the Suns’ glaring capabilities and challenges before the team steps onto the floor in their first game for the season is below:

Strength: Scoring

To the naked eye, the new look Phoenix Suns look as one of the most offensively talented teams in the league. From a pure name standpoint, a G Devin Booker and F Kevin Durant combination is plenty to scare organizations and fan bases across the NBA, but when another All-Star caliber player in G Bradley Beal unexpectedly joins their force, the team becomes a ‘super team.’ 

Now equipped with three elite-level scorers, the Suns were tasked to build around the monstrous trio. They did just that.

Grabbing underrated bench players in the free agency market, the Suns added enough depth to outscore opponents during the regular season alone. When a team has four out of five starters averaging 22, 23, 27 and 16, that team should have no trouble scoring on a nightly basis.

With elite level of scoring, the Suns should keep pace with nearly any team on the offensive side of the ball on a nightly basis. 

Perhaps the forgotten aspect of the 2023-24 Suns team is the diverse areas of the floor that play into the player's strengths as well. Phoenix can score at all three levels, something that not every NBA team has made a priority. The combination of outside shooting with players such as Booker, Beal, Durant and Damion Lee will pair nicely with newly-acquired, sharpshooting role players such as G Eric Gordon and F Yuta Watanabe.

Mid-range jumpers will fall with Booker, Beal and Durant as three of the best mid-range jump shooters in all of basketball, all playing for the same team.

The inside scoring threats will come from C Deandre Ayton, poised to make a large leap in his career, C Drew Eubanks and PF Keita Bates-Diop. These three are capable of contributing in the scoring category and more importantly the offensive rebounding side of the Suns’ equation.

Weakness: Defense

What still remains to be seen is the level of defense and effort from this team. While the new head coach hiring of Frank Vogel is a sexy look in the defensive basketball world, the truth of the matter is the team needs to put out a consistent effort on the defensive end in order for this roster to work.

Plenty of effort questions will surround the team for the next few months until it is shown what kind of motor is in individual players on a nightly basis. With as much scoring potential as the Suns now have, the defensive side of the ball could be neglected slightly.

Phoenix Suns defense is unproven in its effectiveness under a new system in 2023-24. 

The Suns ranked ninth in the league last season in team defense according to the team defensive stats by NBA Advanced Stats. While that number may be encouraging, the amount of new players and new coaches virtually make this a new team this year.

Strength: Coaching

From a coaching standpoint, the Suns made the decision to fire Monty Williams and replace him with Vogel. While the hire has yet to see what kind of impact he has on the team, the energy has been different regardless. The championship level roster of the team has only gotten better in the past few seasons from a personal standpoint and the coaching staff has now acquired a championship level leader.

"I will be committed to bringing a championship level culture both on and off the court, a culture centered around hard work, toughness, intelligence, teamwork."

🎙️ Highlights from head coach Frank Vogel's introductory press conference. pic.twitter.com/7NmWBi2PBU

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) June 6, 2023

Vogel brings with him Kevin Young and David Fizdale on a now experienced and respected staff. Between Vogel and Fizdale alone, the staff has over 20 years of NBA coaching experience. Young will bring a familiarity to the room as Young has been with the Suns since 2021.

Weakness: No True Point Guard

The deal that sent G Chris Paul to the Golden State Warriors was a big blow for the Suns at the point guard position. Now left with limited options, it will be a guard with limited point experience leading the Suns.

Either Beal or Booker will bring the ball up the floor this year for Phoenix, although reports are leaning towards Beal.

The cause or concern isn’t incredibly high as both players are capable of playing the point guard position, it’s just a matter of experience for both. If anything, the loss of Paul to the Suns could be a larger threat as the pass-first guard option is no longer in existence in the Valley. The point guard questions will answer themselves once the scoring inevitably has an off night, resulting in a more pass oriented point guard who will need to make plays before putting up his own shots.

Strength: New Roster

The old roster for the Suns seemed to have hit a wall in the playoffs, not getting the job done when called upon. With the transformation of the Suns since the departure of Robert Sarver, the franchise has been one of the most transformative teams in the NBA. Major pieces of the puzzle quickly presented themselves with the hiring of a new owner, coach and superstars.

The roster is an upgraded version of a team that just simply wasn’t working. Nearly a total overhaul was needed since the Suns made it to the Finals in 2020-21. In fact, only two players remain on the roster from that Finals run.

Only three players remain from 2020-21 season; Booker and Ayton. 

The new roster will bring fresh opportunity to a starving city that has been teased with championship aspirations for years as of late.

Weakness: New Roster

The weakness of this newly assembled roster is the unfamiliarity of the roster as a whole. Eight new Suns were acquired during free-agency/ offseason meaning the chemistry between players will take some time to grow. It shouldn't be surprising to see Phoenix perhaps starts slower than what is demanded from a fans perspective.

While the possibility of a championship is within belief for this roster, the Suns still have questions to answer under a new head coach and system. While the team on paper is impressive, the weakness will begin to show once the team settles into the season.