7 season-defining questions for the Phoenix Suns to answer

6. Can they stay healthy?

This is the next logical question to follow that of the Suns’ depth, because the question marks only increase once you go beyond those top eight players. Jordan Goodwin and Saben Lee – an early preseason standout – are competent guards.

Similarly, Drew Eubanks and Chimezie Metu are decent backup bigs. Keita Bates-Diop is the one player who may surpass every perception that is held about him early, while Bol Bol continues to be an anomaly. There is intrigue with all of these players, but how many can you rely on in big spots?

Unfortunately for the Suns, they are likely going to have to call upon a couple of these names during a long regular season. Already Beal may be out of the season opener, while small question marks also remain over Booker as a result of a toe issue. Not an ideal start, and they weren’t even meant to be the worst offenders.

That would be center Jusuf Nurkic, who has not played more than 52 games since 2019-20. Encouraging as it has been to see him play four preseason games, and go above 20 minutes in two of those contests, only a foolish optimist would believe he is going to be as durable as required.

It is the same story with Durant, who has had his fair share of well documented injuries. The dilemma for the Suns is ensuring they are fully fit come the playoffs, while also not sacrificing too many regular season contests by sitting players and being overly cautious. How they manage this will go a long way to determining how far they go.