In 2023-24, the Phoenix Suns are one of the obvious teams that people have winning it all. However, there is still a lot of doubt. There are narratives that don’t follow what this Suns team is about for the upcoming season.
For all of the people doubting them, some of the narratives they are creating are this team doesn’t have the bench depth, they will play hero ball too often, and they don’t have much defense. From what we have seen in preseason, and we take it with a grain of salt, the 2023-24 season will not look like that from the Phoenix Suns.
The defense is one that I have heard the most from casual fans and people who just hate the Suns. And that couldn’t be further from the truth. Even Devin Booker is competing on defense after we heard that Frank Vogel would have different plans for him offensively. He wants to be a great defender, and we saw him going hard on that side of the ball in the preseason.
The Suns have Josh Okogie, too, who may very well work his way onto an all-defensive team, as he has been playing crazy on that end of the court in the preseason. And, as we said, everything is a grain of salt in the preseason, but the Suns may very well have a secret weapon on defense that not many people know about.
Jordan Goodwin is looking like a gem on the defensive end. Of course, there are some things that he needs to clean up, like the fouls, but his defense has been a huge talking point of the preseason. I have a few clips to show it, too.
On this first clip this is one that every high school kid should watch and steal to add to their game. You don’t have to be athletic or physically gifted; you just have to have the want to, and that’s what Goodwin did. He dove at a pass. Yes, you read that right: the man dove at a pass put his body on the line, and got the steal all in preseason.
Now, maybe don’t do this every time unless you know you will get the ball because it could backfire, and then you look silly on the floor. But, have that want to, that fire and desire.
On the next play, Goodwin showcased his IQ. This was a play that was set up similar to one earlier in the game, where he knew he had to fight through the screen and he could intercept the pass. He did just that, and once again, it’s all effort.
The Suns have that in their back pocket whenever they are ready to use him, and they may very well put him in with that second rotation because of the defense. They will need to have that with the bench unit if Okogie is starting.
Honestly, it’s kind of like a secret weapon.