Yes, These Suns Are For Real

The Phoenix Suns are the top team out West.

Nov 8, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) controls the ball as Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) defends during the third quarter at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- So many questions surrounded the Phoenix Suns ahead of the 2024-25 season, and perhaps rightfully so.

After an embarrassing playoff exit, a coaching change and rumors/speculation of stars potentially leaving, all eyes were fixated in the desert to see what the Suns would look like.

It didn't take them long to answer said questions.

Phoenix is off to one of the hottest starts in basketball with an 8-1 record, tying the Oklahoma City Thunder for tops in the West but hold the current tiebreaker thanks to record within division play.

The Suns have continually proven to find ways to get it done in crunch time while surviving the highs and lows that come during NBA competition.

How would Phoenix look under Mike Budenholzer? Quite different, actually. The Suns are shooting 39.4 three-pointers on average per night, a drastic difference from their 32.6 clip last season under Frank Vogel.

They're not just shooting more - they're making more, too. Phoenix's 38.3% conversion rate from downtown is top ten in the NBA and has made the math game of 2's and 3's fall more in their favor.

Not only are the Suns scoring better, and more efficiently, but they simply look better.

Phoenix is operating with a clear identity on both sides of the ball, something that couldn't be said last season.

82 games under Vogel's Suns would have spawned vastly different ideas of what Phoenix wanted to accomplish. It's important to be versatile and win in different ways, though under Budenholzer, the Suns are playing with purpose - and it shows.

How impactful will Tyus Jones be? Very. The Suns tried to shrug the idea of a legitimate point guard off last year and even during end-of-year press conferences, but it was clear that Phoenix lacked a legitimate table-setter.

Enter: Jones, who signed with the Suns towards the end of the free agency and immediately made it known he would be a starter under Budenholzer. Everybody knows the historical assist-to-turnover ratio Jones arrived with, but Phoenix is night-and-day more organized with Jones running the show.

The Suns struggled with turnovers last season - and quite frankly still do when Jones or Monte Morris aren't in action - though Phoenix has seen organic and careful possessions churn into more wins than losses this year with Jones at the helm of that effort.

The words organized and efficient are consistently used when describing Phoenix's offense with Jones at the helm. That's not by accident.

Kevin Durant is playing at MVP levels. Devin Booker has seen ups and downs but isn't being asked to shoulder majority of the load. The Suns have legitimate depth from potential Rookie of the Year candidate Ryan Dunn to two strong three-point shooters in Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale.

There's still questions surrounding this squad, and reasonably so.

They're far from perfect - but so far, they're for real.