3 biggest mistakes Suns' head coach Mike Budenholzer made this season

The Phoenix Suns are likely going to finish this season without any playoff basketball to look forward to, although it could yet get even worse than that. With a play-in spot far from guaranteed - they're currently 11th out West - and with the Houston Rockets about to steal their first round draft pick, darker days could lie ahead.

Which is bad news for head coach Mike Budenholzer. Although this is only his first campaign with the franchise for the Arizona native, things have not gone well. You know it is bad when fans want to go back and revise the tenure of previous leading man Frank Vogel, and it is likely that Budenholzer could be canned after this season.

These are the decisions that will have gotten him to that point.

It is probably a little unfair for Budenholzer to have to be the one who suffers, but such is the life of a head coach. A fresh perspective is needed - perhaps a more long-term one as well - with the championship pedigree of coach Bud having not worked out. Besides, they won't get rid of Devin Booker and can't move on from Bradley Beal, leaving Budenholzer as the likely odd man out.

3. Having zero defensive game plan

Some of the stables of a successful coach Budenholzer team have been a high volume of 3-point shooting, some unique offensive sets, and a desire to turn a previously one-dimensional big man into more of a threat from beyond the arc. Going back to his days with the Milwaukee Bucks, and his teams were generally above average and occasionally elite defensively.

That was as much to do with the presence of Giannis Antetokounmpo however, as this season the Suns are a horrendous 27th (116.3) in defensive rating. The three teams below them have combined to win 40 games total and one of them - the New Orleans Pelicans - just hung 124 on the Suns in a victory over them. That's grim.

Unfortunately for coach Bud, the ability of Frank Vogel to cobble together a better game plan on that end makes his own efforts look even worse. He also had to make use of Jusuf Nurkic as well, a statue who was sent packing to the Charlotte Hornets at the deadline. Vogel also didn't have the exciting rookie Ryan Dunn to work with, and he's been a big help as a wing defender.

Yet despite a more favorable set of circumstances, the Suns have been easier than ever to score on. This is made worse by the fact coach Bud tried and failed to turn Nurkic into a 3-point shooter, while the higher volume of shooting from deep did happen, but not enough shots have been converted. As for unique offensive sets? Still feels very much your turn, my turn most nights.

2. Not using Monte Morris more

The Suns have stuck with Tyus Jones as their starting floor general for the entire season to this point - and while that initially paid off - coach Budenholzer's reluctance to move off him when it was time has caused this group some wins. Jones is an excellent facilitator and gives the stars the ball before getting out of the way.

He's also great at reducing turnovers and bringing a sense of calm to the group. They would be excellent finishing pieces to a contending roster - which this team looked like after jumping out to an 8-1 start - but the problems are too vast now and they require moving Jones to the bench for a period of time.

Not that Monte Morris himself is the solution - although there's no doubt he's a much better defender who can also take care of the ball - but him being stuck to the bench is emblematic of the issues in The Valley. He's managed a shade over 13 minutes per game this season, and the refusal to try him in favor of Jones more has been frustrating.

Contrast that with Bol Bol - a beloved teammate but just not somebody you can rely on if you're trying to win games - and coach Bud appears to have changed his way of thinking about him. It is making those kind of personnel errors at a time when the group is slowly drowning that will likely contribute to his eventual dismissal.

1. Allowing the season to drift away from the team

Do you know who we've heard a lot from this season? Kevin Durant. Whether it's appearing on Draymond Green's podcast recently, or taking to social media to clap back at anybody and everybody - if you're a fan of the league - the next Durant related story is never too far away.

Do you know what else we also heard a lot about? The Suns' apparent willingness to move on from Durant at the deadline, as well as their fascination with bringing in Jimmy Butler to try and solve all of their problems. Couple that with Beal being happy to be in Phoenix and not wanting to waive his no-trade clause, and it is just a lot of outside noise.

As for Budenholzer? He's never been the most outspoken or dominant of personalities - and when you're ticking along with the Bucks and have settled star players there - that is great. In Phoenix however the team makeup is different - and although we don't expect him to come out and question or challenge everything - you'd forget he was the leading man here sometimes.

Whatever his way of working in the past - which brought great success it should be remembered - is not the way of handling business in The Valley. This is his team and these are his decisions, and everybody else would do well to remember that. Instead coach Budenholzer has cut a frustrated figure on the side of the court, while plenty of talking was done by everybody else off it.