4 On-court observations that are defining the Phoenix Suns’ season

The Phoenix Suns are 14-6 with a net rating of 6.8 despite the long absence of Chris Paul, who went down with a heel injury in the first half of their road loss on November 7th in Philly.

Things have been slightly different, but they’re maintaining the standard and remaining in alignment with the core standards that Monty Williams desires to see from his “0.5 offense.”

Here’s what I’ve been keeping my eye on in the first quarter of the season.

1. Doubling Devin Booker

As the Suns have continued without three very integral pieces of their attack (Paul, Cameron Johnson, Jae Crowder), the pressure placed upon Devin Booker to produce efficiently offensively has doubled.

In that, so has the comfortability of teams sending double teams at him in a variety of ways.

The Suns had issues regarding their offensive process when teams would send extra attention to Devin Booker, and it was a big part of last season’s run ending sooner than expected to the hands of the Dallas Mavericks in the second round.

Much of their issues stemmed from Booker’s processing speed and getting off the ball quickly, his teammates processing the coverage and either spacing or making themselves available to be the spray man as an outlet), and his ability to consistently play off-script advantage basketball.

My film session below dispelled the notion that said issue, which was part of last season’s ending, would continue to be an issue this season.

One could also be done on their closing possessions from a recent win on the road in Sacramento too, as the Suns put on another efficient exhibition of operating off of the extra attention teams are deciding to apply to Devin Booker

As his feel for defenses and passing catalog continues to evolve in tandem with his teammates’ situational and coverage awareness, the Suns have an opportunity to grow even more unguardable offensively as they play off-script.

The short-roll playmaking abilities of Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton will be consistently tested as the regular season treks along. They will now take on a lion’s share of the spotlight that’ll showcase if this team is indeed ready to take another step in their process offensively, becoming nearly as complete and scheme-proof as can be.

2. One Man’s Injury is Another Man’s Opportunity

Cameron Payne was under a ton of scrutiny for how ineffective he was in last season’s playoffs, and I was of the crowd that was harshly critical of the ineptness he shows when the team needed him most.

As we’ve inched closer to the season’s quarter mark we’ve seen Payne play some of his best ball as a Sun. Most of this has come in place of the aforementioned Chris Paul, as a starter.

In his 10 starts this season, Payne is averaging 16.4 points per game on 42.3/39.7/77.8 shooting, 6.8 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and just 2.2 turnovers a night. He’s been effective as a shooter, scorer, and playmaker.

As a scorer from range as a starter, he’s shooting a blistering 52.4% from three on 2.3 pull-ups.

He’s knocking down his floaters and touch shots inside the arc at a respectable efficiency of 44.0% from two and is leading the team in drives per game, at 11.5.

That drives-per-game mark is key here, as his best ability, putting pressure on the rim, is a skill that the Suns are missing and desperately need from him in diversifying their attack. His first step is as quick as anybody’s, and with him struggling to shoot off the catch early on this season, he’s using his still-remaining shooting gravity to lure defenders a step too close when closing on him, and attacking top feet with ferocity, springboarding himself downhill for an abundance of paint touches to score for himself (he’s at 43.3% on his drives) or to generate other advantages.

He’s also been ever-active on the defensive end of the floor, with 2.2 deflections per game (22 total) as a starter, trailing only Mikal Bridges for first on the team in this window.

He’s been making the most of his 31.3 minutes per game in an expanded role, and it brings much more solace to the thought that the team’s bench can remain an advantage within the overall attack, especially once Chris Paul returns to the rotation.

3. Spacing Manipulation

The Suns have had one of the most dynamic teams in terms of their collection of talents offensively for the past three seasons now.

How they have gone about deploying their pieces to consistently keep defenses in compromising situations of decision has been fun to track.

An early instance I had from the beginning of the season saw them collect data on the Minnesota Timberwolves, then manipulate their offensive spacing in a manner that would dictate matchups and generate high-percentage shots on repeat.

Things have looked a little different of late without Paul and Johnson. Nonetheless, they’ve continued to keep a point of emphasis on working with empty corners for their actions.

This, subsequently, enables them to consistently stretch defenses and allows for the cutting ability of their wings to come to the forefront of late.

As they get players in the rotation both from injury and via inevitable trades it’ll be even more interesting to see how much more the offense evolves its attack as a machine that has multiple answers for whatever question defenses decide to pose throughout games.

4. Miscellaneous Observations

Torrey Craig is an offensive rebounding machine. On the season, he’s averaging 1.9 offensive boards per game. In a recent 10-game window, he’s up to 2.4 per including a game-clinching one in last night’s win. On the season, he’s grabbing 7.8% of the team’s offensive misses, good for a 94th-percentile ranking. Zoom in on the last 10 games, and he’s in the 91st percentile at 7.9%.

The Suns as a team rank seventh in this window, with a rebounding percentage of 30.2%.

Torrey and his extra efforts continue to be key as the Suns stay afloat via “next man up” efforts.

•  Speaking of the next man up, please notice the efforts and value-added from Damion Lee.

Updated, he’s now:

• third on the team in fourth-quarter scoring (4.2)
• second in total fourth-quarter points scored (83)
• is shooting 59.2/61.1/100 in final frames
• specifically in the clutch:  53.8% from the field, and 60% from three
• is a team-leading +3.0 in the clutch
• +6.3 when they’re tied or behind in the clutch

He’s been one of the team’s best players this season, as well as one of the most efficient, and most consistently ready when called upon.

Look no further than his game-winner to get things going against Dallas on opening night.

This was the instance that’s springboarded a multitude of instances where he’s come through for the team with some elite time on task-ability to give that extra push from an unexpecting source.

His signing in free agency went under the radar, but his addition has been loud as one of the best gems in role players found across the entire league, through the first quarter of play.

The defense has hit a snag in these 10 games, losing some of its luster in effectiveness. Watch for an uptick in effectiveness and efforts on that end of the floor as the Suns see missing players inch closer to returning.

Mikal Bridges is presently averaging a career-best 16.1 points per game, on blistering efficiency (53.4/44.3/87.0), and doing so operating in an evolved manner. Keep an eye on him as he continues to ascend, is featured in an evolved manner, and takes more attempts in the process. He’s also shooting 44.4% on his catch-and-shoot three’s, 46.3% from the corners, and 41.4%(!!!) above the break.

All of those shooting efficiencies from deep are career-best marks. He seems to have subtly tweaked his form and is getting his shots off quicker with a consistent lift to them, whether it’s off the catch or the bounce. Positioning him for yet another mark in ascension as a scorer, specifically. He’s also at 5.4 boards and 3.5 assists per, both of which are career-best paces.

Deandre Ayton, the reigning Western Conference Player of the Week, has been lights out over the last six games, averaging: 19.7 points, 13.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 blocks. Past the numbers, his engagement and activity, specifically in the paint offensively and protecting it defensively, have reached a level of sustainability that has yet to be seen this season.

He’s in his best flow, and the team has sought out force-feeding him in ways unique to their operation at times prior, via some double-screening combined with the organic looks inside for him on the roll or in roll-to-post looks. He’s operating in a fun space right now, and the team is feeding off the competitive energy he’s been bringing of late.