Defense
Finally, I do have to point out one negative.
After all, the Suns didn’t beat the Warriors, they beat the Mavericks, some pundit’s offseason dark horse playoff team, although probably more of a longer shot than even Phoenix.
The Suns’ defense was…eh.
Yes, Igor is supposed to have a strong pedigree working for several very good defensive teams in the past, and it is expected to take time implementing a lot of what works for good defensive teams on a Suns roster that is obviously designed to be run-and-gun.
While Dallas’ shooting was nothing to write home about (they finished 43.2% from the field and 30.3% from beyond the arc on 33 attempts), they missed a number wide open layups and close shots that would have (at times in the second half) made the score much closer, and who knows: potentially changes the complexion of the game (although something tells me that Booker still would have taken over Stephen Curry-style).
There were also a number of easy layups and dunks too by Dallas that went entirely uncontested by Phoenix defenders (in particular a few occasions of Deandre Ayton letting players go right by), that, had Phoenix set the tone physically and man-handled Dallas players a few times early (Ayton sincerely looked afraid to make contact with his good friend Luka Doncic on one open layup), they actually might have put the game away a lot sooner as Dallas would have refused to drive entirely for fear of contact.
The silver lining to this is: if the Suns still outscore their opponents because of a fantastic offense, then mediocre defense will suffice for now.
Certainly though, if they really do want to win consistently; make the playoffs regularly; and knock on the door of the championship soon; they’ll have to realize that defense is the key, and that they should focus on it now, because it truly is: Time to Rise.