Analyst: Suns' Offense Among Best in NBA

The Phoenix Suns could have an offensive attack that stands at the top of the league this season.

Oct 17, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) shoots over Los Angeles Lakers guard Max Christie (12) during the first half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- The 2024-25 Phoenix Suns are moving into the season opener with high hopes of not only improving off of last season - but also of gunning for a long-alluded NBA title.

Many national analysts - from John Hollinger to Kevin O'Connor - have recently begun a campaign that paints the view of the Suns in a much more optimistic light. That narrative has continued to gain traction, although not as much as it possibly should.

CBS Sports NBA analyst Sam Quinn is relatively high on the Suns as well - but arguments could be had that ranking the Suns' offense the 8th best in the NBA is still underselling the ceiling of this group.

More from Quinn below:

2023-24 offensive rating: 116.8
2023-24 offensive ranking: No. 10

This is a split-the-difference ranking for Phoenix. The injury risk is high enough here that the Suns could conceivably post a below-average offensive rating. The talent is great enough here that the Suns could also finish in the top three. I lean toward the latter because of how many little things Phoenix cleaned up this offseason. They have point guards now! Tyus Jones and Monte Morris are by no means stars, but they don't need to be given the stars elsewhere on the roster. Mike Budenholzer teams typically have stellar shot diets. Last year's Suns took way too many mid-range shots and never got to the rim or shot 3s. Budenholzer isn't going to pull Kevin Durant and Devin Booker out of the mid-range entirely, but he can nudge the offense in the more efficient directions it needed to go. The Suns are slightly better-equipped to handle injuries this season than they were a season ago.

- Quinn on the Phoenix offense

The split-difference approach is very fair - as an untimely injury to Devin Booker or Kevin Durant could lead the offense to a misleading finish on the offensive side of the ball - while the personnel is there to experience a top-3 finish as well.

The shot diet will be a major factor as well, as the fewest three-point looks Phoenix got in the preseason was 36. They will poised to be at the top of the league in both volume and efficiency from behind the arc, particularly with eight players that shot over 35% last season.

The depth is also a massive deal, as Monte Morris and Tyus Jones both represent a clear opportunity to enforce a clear offensive philosophy this season. The two point guards are supremely turnover-averse, while also being both willing and efficienct spot-up shooters. Mason Plumlee, Oso Ighodaro, and Frank Kaminsky appear to be an indescribable upgrade of frontcourt depth compared to 2023-24. Jusuf Nurkic looks like a different player - albeit in a small sample size.

The offensive pieces around Durant and Booker are unmistakably there to officially take off into elite status that was expected after acquiring Bradley Beal last June - they just need to show it on the court.

The Suns came in below the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, and Dallas Mavericks.

While all of the above teams are certainly valid selections above Phoenix, it would be hard-pressed to find one of them outside of Boston that possess the ceiling the Suns do, from play style to top-tier talent, and everything in between.