3 Glaring Problems for the Phoenix Suns to Fix Without Chris Paul

Phoenix Suns Problems without Chris Paul: JaVale McGee Not Playing like his Usual Self

JaVale McGee finds himself enjoying one of his best seasons to date. With him being a player primarily valued for his energy, his lacking decline at 34-years-old remains impressive. Players that rely solely on their athleticism and energy typically flame out a bit quicker (think Kenneth Faried).

But with that being said, McGee has run into a rough patch. In the Pelicans matchup, McGee only grabbed two boards. That is straight up unacceptable. Jonas Valanciunas represents the exact type of big for McGee to neutralize with his size, but he completely failed to do so vs New Orleans.

If McGee cannot offer support for Ayton, Phoenix needs to take another look at Bismack Biyombo.

Biyombo played stellar basketball earlier this year when the Suns first picked him up to help out when Ayton could not suit up. In the 18 games he played, Biyombo averaged 16.8 points and 12.8 rebounds per 36 minutes.

Biyombo proved that when given the opportunity, he brings hustle and muscle. I think the Pelicans loss proves that the Suns need some toughness in the middle right now, which McGee cannot seem to provide.

Monty Williams does possess another option beside McGee or Biyombo: running some small-ball with Torrey Craig at the five. If McGee continues to struggle and cannot get back to his ferocious rebounding and defensive play, Monty might start experimenting with this strategy.

Even if the Suns give up more buckets in the paint and lose the rebounding battle, the extra floor spacing and playmaking might help free up Booker and ignite him offensively. We have not seen too many off-ball sets established for Book with him stuck running point these past three games, but small opens up that door once again.