4 Reasons the Phoenix Suns are struggling in December
By Aaron Coe
Although Johnson should return and everyone cannot stay injured all season long, the Suns have shown they are a bit short in terms of personnel.
The Phoenix Suns lack the athletic bigs to bang with the best
Although Ayton has flashed at times this season and does look like he will be a lot for anyone to handle in the playoffs, the Suns’ big man needs some help. Ayton outrebounded MVP Nikola Jokic on Christmas 16 -15, but the Suns lost overall. While Phoenix rebounds okay as a team overall, if Ayton cannot control the glass, it makes things difficult for the team, as was the case with Aaron Gordon collecting 13 boards to compliment Jokic in the Suns’ loss in Denver.
The Suns have struggled against teams with multiple athletic bigs, as we saw against Memphis, New Orleans, and even lowly Houston. Ayton is playing hard, but he needs help, and Williams seems unwilling to play either Bismakc Biyombo or Jock Landale with the Jamaican, meaning that help will have to come from somewhere else.
The return of Johnson will not fully address this issue, although an intelligent trade for an athletic, playmaking big like Kyle Kuzma could fix the problem.