Despite Durant comments Suns will need defense to win championship

The NBA’s offseason is a strange and wonderful time in the calendar, and it has a little something for everybody. For the sensationalists out there, you can deliberate on the landing spot of Damian Lillard, or if you’re particularly sick, talk about where James Harden is going to take his talents to next.

For the hardcore, Summer League is in full swing and there is plenty to talk about, including the Suns potentially unearthing the next Bruce Brown. Even the casual individuals can follow an event like the ESPYs to hear LeBron James confirm he is not retiring and to watch Lil Dicky and former Sun Chris Paul show each other some love on the red carpet.

Of course it wouldn’t be an NBA summer without Kevin Durant and his Twitter account getting into the mix, but his most recent comments may trouble Suns fans.

Over the course of an entertaining exchange with users that spanned several hours this week, Durant alluded to the fact that he believes offense wins championships, and is more important than defense when it comes to hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy. To be clear, he also understands the merits of defending at an elite level as well, as he would go on to point out.

Sticking to the offensive side of this argument however, and it is one the Suns will hope rings true come next June. With Durant, Booker and Bradley Beal, there is no reason the team can’t have the best offensive rating in the NBA in 2023-24.

Last season, when Paul was there in place of Beal, they ranked just above league average (14th, 114.5) during the regular season, and a much better third (116.1) once the postseason began. To add weight to Durant’s case, the Nuggets topped the offensive table during their championship run, at 118.2.

On the other hand, the Nuggets also finished the playoffs ranking fourth in defensive rating (110.2), with two of the three teams above them (Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies) sent packing in the opening round. The remaining team (New York Knicks) were eliminated in round two. The Nuggets were superb offensively, but were no slouches on the defensive end.

Clearly then the Suns are going to have to be at least near elite defensively to have a real shot at winning a championship, and for Durant of all people to prioritize offensive firepower is troubling because of how the organization have constructed their roster this offseason. The Suns most certainly get an A grade for the business they conducted.

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But in order to be a top team in the postseason, they are going to need Durant to turn in one of, if not the best, defensive seasons of his career. That is a lot to ask of a 34-year-old who has had a major achilles injury, and it is something that his former team the Brooklyn Nets were all too aware of.

It is all well and good to add Eric Gordon and Keita Bates-Diop to a rotation, and to bring back Josh Okogie. But with the exception of maybe Gordon, none of those guys will be playing when it really matters next spring. Durant on the other hand will, and more than that he will need to be the team’s second best defender behind Deandre Ayton in those moments.

Prior to moving to the Nets from the Golden State Warriors, Durant was elite defensively and you could argue, underrated in this area. His length and movement troubled so many opponents, and he was a proper deterrent around the rim as well. Combining his time with the Nets and Suns, and those teams have had an average defensive rating of 110.3, easily a top five rating in the NBA.

During the playoffs with both of these organizations however, when Durant has been on the court that number has fallen to the kinds of levels (116.9) that you generally attribute to teams who get knocked out in the first round. Last season, the nearest team to that number were the Minnesota Timberwolves (12th, 117.2), with Durant’s Suns somehow even worse again (13th, 118.3).

So since winning those championships as part of a Warriors dynasty, it has been a case of Durant statistically being at his worst defensively in the postseason, when he is needed at his best. Was he doing this so as to save his body so he could prioritized scoring? He’ll never say that himself, but his Twitter comments could bring you to that conclusion.

Working in Durant’s favor here is the fact new head coach Frank Vogel had the Los Angeles Lakers playing like a defensive machine when they won a championship back in 2020. He also worked wonders previously with the Indiana Pacers as well. He will be able to get the best out of Ayton on that end, to make it easier on the likes of Durant, Beal and Booker each night.

But therein lies the worrying nature of what Durant had to say. If he doesn’t think defending is as important as scoring, while also accepting it is needed to win big, will Durant even care what Vogel is trying to implement and how Ayton attempts to cover everybody else’s lapses? It is a fascinating question, and one that will decide just how serious the Suns are about winning.

There is no doubt Kevin Durant is one of the best offensive players to ever play the game of basketball. Perhaps even the best. He has now been paired with All-Star level scorers in Beal and Booker, as well as coaching staff and supporting cast of players who will defend to the best of their abilities. All of which are needed to win a title, not just the scoring as Durant believes.