3 realities the Spurs exposed about the Phoenix Suns
By Luke Duffy
1. Struggles with fast-paced groups
On the surface, the Spurs don’t push the pace that much more than the Suns. At least that’s what the early season statistics say, with the Spurs ranking ninth (102.2) and the Suns 15th (101.4). But to watch the two games unfold was to see the Spurs appear much quicker to get into their offensive sets when they had the ball.
Tre Jones – who is lightening quick anyway – looked like he was running at 1.5 speed while the Suns players followed along in slow motion at times, and the ability of his team to hurt the Suns in transition was also evident. The Suns of last season that had Chris Paul at the helm were also a slow team, but their offensive execution was crisp in its execution.
Next. 3 trade targets for a backup point guard for the Suns. dark
Booker as the main point guard is going to take some getting used to, while Durant at 35-years-old doesn’t excel in an up-and-down game. Doing this is only going to tire him and the likes of Gordon out, whereas when he gets the ball in the areas that he likes, Durant can take his time and get up basically any shot that he wants to.
Young teams like the Spurs are going to have joy against the Suns, we’ve already seen that happen twice in three days. Right now young rosters like the Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers and Charlotte Hornets rank in the top five in pace. The Suns should be beating all three, but the Spurs have shown that easy wins against rebuilding organizations will not be easy to come by.