The Phoenix Suns’ opening night starting five for 2023-24

The 2023-24 NBA season is almost upon us, with the Phoenix Suns facing a tough two game away trip to kick off their campaign. On opening night they will face the Golden State Warriors, and follow that up with a trip to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers.

The Suns can’t win a maiden NBA Championship in the first few weeks of the new season, but they can certainly go a long way towards losing it. Starting the season 0-2, although hardly a massive cause for concern, would not be ideal given the opponents they’ll be facing.

Which is why the starting five for opening night and beyond are of such importance to this Suns organization.

They need to get the mix of role players around their three superstars correct, and quickly, while also getting the best out of the top three on their roster. All of which have a chance to be All-Stars this coming season, with Devin Booker also in with a chance of being the league MVP if this all goes correctly.

Make no mistake, this Suns group is capable of winning it all, but a lot has to go right in order for them to do so. That starts with head coach Frank Vogel getting a settled starting five sorted for the regular season, while also not overworking his star trio too early in the season. Even if wins are harder to come by than the franchise would like in a crowded Western Conference.

Point Guard – Devin Booker

The point guard position is the most fascinating one that the Suns have, and it will be interesting to see how quickly Booker is used as a more traditional table-setter. Booker himself seems to have no problem in setting up his teammates, and his assist numbers should take a bump this coming season.

But the more time Booker spends facilitating for others and keeping the bigger picture in mind, the less time he has to go supernova and torch opponents. Not that this is a bad thing – Booker is an elite passer and superb playmaker, so it is not like the Suns are going to struggle putting their franchise player in this position.

But the league leading 33.7 points he averaged during the postseason last year should be all the information coach Vogel needs to get Booker off the ball from time to time, so that he can attack opponents and over and over.

The main issue here is that the depth beyond Booker isn’t great, with Jordan Goodwin and an impressive in preseason Saben Lee the backups. On the other hand, on some nights this will be a floor general by committee, such is the level of talent available to the Suns when fully healthy.

Shooting Guard – Bradley Beal

This two-guard spot is undoubtedly Bradley Beal’s, and there is little reason that will change throughout the entire season. The Suns went out and turned the ageing Chris Paul into the 30-year-old Beal this summer, making him the best third option offensively in the league.

There is no world where Beal comes off the bench, unless he is coming back from injury. Twice in his career he has scored over 30 points per game, and even though he will undoubtedly get less shots than ever before, the amount of open looks he gets should see his efficiency reach a level not previously seen while with the Washington Wizards.

Don’t be surprised if Beal ends up playing the most minutes of any starter during the regular season as well. Coach Vogel will always have one of his three stars on the floor, but is more likely to give Kevin Durant or Booker a break if they are blowing an opponent away.

Beal may not be this group’s x-factor, but they are capable of becoming the best offensive team of all-time as a result of him being on the roster. Making the right decisions with the ball and taking those aforementioned open shots when Booker and Durant are being heavily guarded is exactly why the Suns went out and got him. It is also why he will always start.

As a bonus, the Suns can put the ball in his hands some, and the drop-off in output isn’t likely to be overly significant. Booker is the better player than Beal – he’s the better playmaker as well – but he’s had to do it all on the mediocre Wizards before, and will have zero problem taking over for stretches from the two-guard position as well.

Small Forward – Josh Okogie

The most contentious position on this list, but like it or not, right now this is Josh Okogie’s spot to lose. Okogie has both the continuity with having been on the roster last season, and an above average defensive game, to begin the season as the right choice here.

It helps that he shot 33.5 percent from deep last season, not a great number but the best mark of his career on 2.7 attempts per night. If Okogie can just keep defenders honest enough with that shot each night, then the Suns really will be one of the most fearsome offensive monsters that we have ever seen.

Really though it is the hounding of elite scorers that give Okogie the edge here, although he will begin this season with his position under threat. The downside for him of having played with Booker before (and Durant in a tiny sample size), is that we know the limitations of Okogie with this group.

Hard as he may try, opponents may eventually leave him open or else force him to take the ball and make plays happen. Adding Beal makes Okogie’s life easier, but it will still be on him to actually make the right decision both on and off the ball if the Suns are to be successful.

The addition of Grayson Allen this offseason is another reason for Okogie to look over his shoulder. Allen looks like an ideal sixth man right now, and he’s jumped the queue for minutes ahead of Yuta Watanabe and Eric Gordon. He has a reputation as a dirty player, but he is a better defender than he is given credit for. Allen is going to quickly push Okogie for this spot.

Power Forward – Kevin Durant

Who else but one of the 20 best players to ever do it than Durant to slide in at the four. The front office traded away Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and a whole host of picks to get him from the Brooklyn Nets, and they didn’t do so to have him come off the bench.

Really the biggest question mark pertaining to Durant with this roster, is quite what position he’ll play each night. The idea of positions in general is becoming an antiquated one, but when it comes to Durant and his injury history, it is important if the Suns want to win a championship.

He certainly could spend time at the center position, and in doing so have both Watanabe and Allen join Beal and Booker on the court to kick the scoring into overdrive. But to do so what force Durant to bang some with bigger players, the kind of scenario the coaching staff likely do not have in mind for the player at this stage of his career.

Injuries may also force Durant to move up a position, but he could also slide down one and allow the Suns to play bigger against certain opponents. Again it is not something that will be seen every night, but with Durant being one of the most flexible superstars of all-time, it is a great luxury to have. Starting at the four keeps everything simple for now, so he’ll begin there.

Center – Jusuf Nurkic

The center position is clear now – but that doesn’t mean it will be for the duration of the season – and that will be of concern to the organization. The Suns traded Deandre Ayton for Jusuf Nurkic, Allen, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson, in a move that was met with mild enthusiasm from most fans.

There was no doubt Ayton had to go, but for an underwhelming package like that? Thankfully for the Suns, Nurkic showed in a preseason meeting between Ayton and himself that he is the more dominant of the two. So much so that Ayton ducked the second meeting between the pair entirely back in The Valley.

https://twitter.com/LucaLockheart/status/1714374642742218999

In limited minutes, the fit with Nurkic looks ideal. He doesn’t need the ball a lot, offensively knows when to move, screen and roll to the basket, and he has soft hands. Defensively he has been better than advertized in limited run as well, moving with a fluidity on that end that people did not see coming.

But health is an issue for Nurkic, and at 29-years-old he isn’t raising the ceiling of this group either. In fact if he misses a significant amount of time, all the Suns will have done in trading for him is lower their floor. Not a good place to be in when you’ve gone as all in as any team can in trying to win.

Assuming he is available, Nurkic will start on opening night. But how many minutes he can play, and how active he will be on back-to-backs, is still unknown. That is a massive variable for a group that is so set and ready to roll at the other positions. The depth isn’t fantastic behind Nurkic and Durant can’t spend too much time there either. A shaky finish to a strong starting five.