The Phoenix Suns have played the first three games of a 2024-25 season with a ton riding on it, and they have a 2-1 record to show for it. Splitting a pair of games over in Los Angeles against both teams there, before a nice victory over the Dallas Mavericks in their first outing at the Footprint Center.
Yes we've barely played any games, and of course there are going to be so many twists and turns between now and the playoffs. Yet already it seems like we have a decent feel for certain areas of how this franchise are trying to approach and win games, and they are worth talking about.
Which is why we've got these three instant overreactions.
Disagree with these takes all you want - but one thing you will have to admit - is that these have come from a place of truth having taken in 13 quarters of Suns' basketball so far (that victory over the L.A. Clippers did end up going to overtime). Luckily for this team though, a lot of these observations are wholly positive as well.
3. This team is better than last season
Perhaps this shouldn't come as a surprise - and there are certainly those who are still going to disagree - but it is clear as day that this Suns team is better than the product they had last season. The Clippers victory was professional in how it was handled, while the home win over the Mavericks was exactly what was needed after the loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kevin Durant looks as unstoppable as ever on the offensive end, and the fact Devin Booker has failed to really catch fire yet and Beal missed the win over the Mavericks shows there's still great places for this group to go together. They were three difficult games to start the campaign, and the Suns should have won all of them.
The only area really letting them down right now is the stupid plays and decisions that have unfortunately carried over from last season, and seem to occur when the Suns are in complete control of the game. They were up by as many as 22 in the second quarter against the Lakers, yet somehow conspired to lose that game.
If they can clean up the isolation plays that creep in when they have a big lead, then the sky really is the limit here. Point guard Tyus Jones has been one of the key reasons for this, although he alone cannot take all of the credit. The Suns heard what everybody had to say after last season, and so far they're playing like they're taking this whole regular season thing a lot more seriously.
2. Ryan Dunn needs to play more
It says a lot that the Suns - coming home after the silly loss to the Lakers - turned to rookie Ryan Dunn in the absence of Beal and Grayson Allen through injury. They could have inserted Royce O'Neale in the starting group - a player head coach Mike Budenholzer admittedly does like with the second unit - having just paid him to stick around this summer.
Yet with veteran options to choose from, coach Bud went with Dunn, and it mostly paid off. Fans need to quit appealing for Beal to drop to the bench in favor of the rookie, that is simply not going to happen. Not just because he's making $50 million alone this season, but because already this is the best version of Beal we've seen in The Valley.
Coach Bud and KD both raved about Suns rookie Ryan Dunn, who started in place of Bradley Beal in the win over the Mavs. pic.twitter.com/pMzMKfZPxi
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) October 27, 2024
There is a happy medium though, and it includes Dunn very much being a part of the second unit. The other rookie in this rotation - big man Oso Ighodaro - actually has an easier path to game time because he's such a different center option to Jusuf Nurkic and Mason Plumlee. Young and bouncy, he offers this team something different.
But it can be denied no longer that Dunn is actually going to help this season, and he is going to achieve this by having an impact on both ends of the court. The sample size is tiny, but 46.2 percent from deep on 4.3 attempts per game is outrageous - and if that continues - then Dunn really is going to force the coaching staff into some difficult choices.
1. Mike Budenholzer is the right coach for this team
If there was ever any doubt about the fit between coach and players, then Budenholzer eradicated those thoughts as soon as preseason play. Right away he was playing to this team's strengths, and not trying to force them into being a defensive-minded group like previous head coach Frank Vogel attempted last season.
He's letting the stars be themselves on the offensive end, and putting the ball in the hands of Jones to make plays happen. More than that, he's trying to get Nurkic to move further away from the paint to have an impact. This is going to be a slow process, but you can see the seeds being sown early in the campaign.
Suns just hit 8 3s and had 14 assists on 15 field goals in the first quarter. Mike Budenholzer you have saved my life
— sreekar (@sreekyshooter) October 26, 2024
It is the 3-point shooting that is most telling though, with the Suns currently ranking 12th at 38 per game. Not only is that around five more attempts each night than last season, you can be certain it is going to continue trending north as the Suns come up against weaker opponents in their schedule.
They've also already had to play without Beal and Allen - two of the top seven 3-point shooters by percentage last season - and are trying to channel much of their sets through Jones and Monte Morris when he is on the court. The offensive structure is simpler - but even more importantly - looks much more effective early on.