Three Things Suns HC Needs to Accomplish

Mike Budenholzer has some defined things to accomplish early in his tenure with Phoenix.

May 17, 2024; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Mike Budenholzer poses alongside General Manager James Jones during a press conference to announce his job as head coach of the Phoenix Suns. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- Mike Budenholzer approached his first season as head coach of the Phoenix Suns - and his first game coaching the organization is rapidly approaching.

With that, Budenholzer has already seemingly turned a corner that his predecessor never figured out in his lone season on the job, but he still has some very marked objectives to accomplish in the infant stages of season one at the helm.

Three things that coach Budenholzer needs to figure out quickly:.

3. Consistent Offense

The most pronounced deficiency of last season's squad was the lack of identity on offense.

Prior head coach Frank Vogel decided to retain assistant Kevin Young, who was previously on the staff of Monty Williams - Young served as a de-facto "offensive coordinator."

That was a large folly on the part of the franchise - as a low volume of shots at the rim, inconsistent three-point volume, and numerous stagnant fourth quarters did them in.

Budenholzer's objective from day one should undoubtedly be to push 40 three-point attempts per night from a variety of sources, emphasize more aggressiveness at the rim, and relying on pushing the pace to overrun opponents on a nightly basis.

2. Focus on Rookies

This doesn't necessarily mean that the rookie class of Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro - perhaps even Jalen Bridges - should be in the rotation from day one.

The three should be an emphasis when it comes to practice, potential G League reps, and one-on-one coaching with this impressively constructed staff.

Ighodaro could indeed be pro-ready, and Dunn possibly could rediscover a solid jump shot that was around in high school, but the development should simply be a point of focus rather than a forced endeavor.

Development of young pieces hasn't been a focus for the franchise - but they can certainly buck that trend in 2024-25, which will in hand set the franchise up for continued success over the next several years.

1. Make Early Statement

The 2023-24 Suns were marred with inconsistency from the start.

They began the first month+ of the season 11-7 - but spent much of December and January hovering around .500.

While they did finish strong to reach 49 wins, the tone that was set early lead many in the NBA world to write them off as legitimate contenders early in the season.

Now Budenholzer - who is known to be one of the pillars of regular season consistency - has a tall task of navigating the Suns through the first month of the regular season, one that could be among the toughest in the league based off of 2023-24 records.

If the Suns show they are a different squad early, it could potentially change minds around the league and remind the NBA community just how talented they are.