Must repeat: Suns find winning formula vs Wolves

One thing that the Phoenix Suns have shown under Jay Triano that has been repeated on multiple occasions is a level of grit and perseverance that was entirely lost under Earl Watson.

Yet one thing that has not been entirely obvious is what formula do the Suns need  in order to win more often than not?

Against the Minnesota Timberwolves, they arguably found that formula, although the ability to repeat it night in and night out may be a little more difficult than fans – and the team – would like to hear.

In case you somehow missed it, Devin Booker and T.J. Warren are the Suns’ two best players. They are both capable scorers, and either one can drop 30+ on any given night. The beauty of having those two so able to score (and Warren with a level of efficientness that not common for a small forward) is that when one player has a night off, the other can pick up the slack a bit.

But when they are both  rolling, then defenses can not key in on either in particular, allowing each greater opportunities to score without constant double-team and smothering.

Against the Minnesota Timberwolves Booker and Warren combined for an astounding 70 points on 28-44 shooting (63.6%), 9-10 from the free throw line, 5-10 from beyond the arc (Booker himself finished 5-9) tying his season-high in makes, 17 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 block. A complete performance from two stars that proved more than enough to take down the current Northwest Division runners up.

For the Suns to find any modicum of success, those two must  be on for the entire game creating space for one another and spreading out the defense not allowing either one to be keyed on.

Most importantly, Devin Booker needs to assert himself in the offense. On those nights where he allows the defense to get the better of him and he does not find a way to force his will offensively, the team struggles.

Against the Orlando Magic on Saturday night, Booker attempted only 10 field goals in the Suns’ 16-point loss. Against a team that the Suns clearly should have matched up against better, Booker was not only taken out of his game, but became passive, often allowing Mike James to take over the game offensively, smothering Booker’s chances of ever getting on a role that could have spread the Orlando defense thin.

Against the Wolves, Booker made more field goals than he even attempted the night before.

In Phoenix’s five victories this season, the combination of Devin Booker and T.J. Warren average 50.8 points per game.

In losses, the average 35.1

Therin lies the difficulty of the Suns getting both players hot on the same night and leading the team to victory: consistency.

In the Suns’ nine losses, either Booker or Warren has scored less than 10 points in five of those games.

In only one loss did both Booker and Warren score at least 20 points, and that was game two against the Los Angeles Lakers where Booker dropped 25 and Warren, 24.

While either one of this dynamic scoring duo is capable of going off for 30+ on any given night, and certainly they both can  at the same time, getting those two going in the same game and controlling the offense (efficiently) is the challenge that faces both the players, Triano.

It is obvious that when one of those two are not on their game, someone else has to be able to step up and fill in, something that Mike James is capable of doing as he is a very capable scorer himself, however, James is also a ball-dominant black hole and is more apt to stall the offense than to get it going: the very problem that the Suns offense faced with Eric Bledsoe.

To help counter this – and hopefully this is something that we see from now on – Triano started Tyler Ulis against the Wolves, a player far more apt to distribute the ball and keep the offense flowing without looking for his own shot, than James.

Now, to be fair to James, he finished 4-4 from the field last night with five assists, while Ulis finished 1-5 from the field with five assists himself. However, Mike James’ unit finished a -15, whereas Ulis’ unit finished +24.

Phoenix Suns

Most good teams have more than two very good players and with Phoenix only having two, I have proven already that the Suns will be hard-pressed to get these two players rolling at the exact same time night in and night out. For Phoenix to be competitive and effective, they need to find at least a third scorer each night to help take even more pressure off of Booker and Warren, while stretching the defense that much thinner.

It would obviously be entirely ideal for an opponent to never risk doubling an individual Sun as anyone of the five on the floor could burn them, however at the moment that is just not possible.

Marquese Chriss did finish with 13 points – the only other Sun in double-digits – including a career-high tying three 3-pointers. But this was only Chriss’ second double-digit scoring game of the season making him that much more inconsistent offensively than Booker and Warren. Chriss too cannot create for himself. He must be found open for his attempts and if he is not, then he is as good as useless offensively.

The hope is that someday (soon) Josh Jackson too can be a Booker/Warren type of player, becoming a third scoring star that coupled with his insane motor and athleticism will give defenses absolute fits. However last night he managed only 3-12 from the field including 0-5 from beyond the arc for eight points. Had Jackson managed to go 50% from the field and drain two of the 3-pointers, he would have 16 points, and potentially put the game well out of reach earlier.

Dragan Bender is also a potentially lethal shooter from the outside stretching the bigs to  the arc which would be especially helpful for Warren who loves to drive rather than shoot outside himself. But against the Wolves, Bender was only 3-8, although he did drain 2-5 from 3-point range, including one late that helped dig the Suns out of a late hole, and would eventually propel them to victory.

If the Suns are not going to win many games this season, it is at least good that there are games like this as proof that both Warren and Booker and co-exist on offense proving to be an absolutely lethal combination.

This might be the only combination the Suns can have if they are going to add ticks to the wins column, although it will also be the most difficult. While those two can be fairly inconsistent, when they are on, they will be a force to be reckoned with and if only one other player can be hot on that night (especially one who can drain 3’s with regularity) then the Suns will have found a victorious combination.

Next: Even after slow start, all is not lost for the Phoenix Suns

For the Suns they get a day off and then are back on the court, this time against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuseday night.