Phoenix Suns: 5 midseason thoughts

These aren’t the Seven-Seconds-or-Less Suns of yesteryear.

The team ranks at 29th in pace! After ranking as the ninth highest pace team in the regular season last year, the Suns’ tempo has slowed to a crawl. This has brought down the team turnovers and is likely a pace that will favorably translate to the postseason, but it wouldn’t hurt to make a point of getting in to transition a bit more quickly or often when able. This is especially true when considering that the Suns rank 1st in points per play in transition.

The young players on the team like Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, Cam Johnson, and Mikal Bridges would most benefit from an increased pace. Scoring before the defense gets set is generally easier than slogging through half courts sets every trip down the floor. Johnson and Bridges in particular rank in the 87th percentile.

Phoenix has a storied history of all-time great point guards. Paul certainly continues that tradition, but he is doing it in his own way. It could be argued that this is the best way to utilize Paul on the team, but this has pushed Booker more off-ball. This is most evident in the dropoff of his assists from 6.5 to 4.3 assists per game from last season to now. Anyone who watched Booker’s growth as a playmaker over the last few seasons can see the difference. The Suns offense might have another gear as Booker and Paul continue to develop their chemistry in the backcourt. Hopefully, the All-Star game gives the two of them some more chances to experiment and improve!