8 reasons the Phoenix Suns are a completely different team than last year

3. Oh, by the way, the defense was insanely improved

13 steals. Count ’em. 13. And nine blocks!

After Buddy Hield had his NBA Jam on-fire streak in the first half, Devin Booker locked him down in half two. He forced Hield to shoot extremely difficult shots, most of which did not go in.

But while Booker deserves praise for his individual effort on Hield, the whole team was zeroed in defensively much of the game.

It wasn’t just the 13 steals that were impressive, it was how they came. There were a few of those where defender jumped in front of a passing lane, but many of those were on ball steals, where the King was either holding the ball or dribbling in place and a player on the Suns just took it away.

Four of those times, that player was Ricky Rubio. While some worried the speed of De’Aaron Fox might trip up the 28-year-old Spaniard, Rubio excelled on the defensive end, always getting in the right position, hustling, and always having active hands.

Couple that with extremely competent rim protection from Ayton, who had four blocks, scoring on this team is going to require aforementioned NBA Jam on-fire stretches from Suns’ opponents.