The Phoenix Suns have limped out of the gate to a 1-3 start, although we have yet to see what Jalen Green will look like in The Valley. Mark Williams has sat out a back-to-back, while Dillon Brooks is about to miss his second straight game with right groin soreness. It's hardly an injury crisis in Phoenix, but being fully healthy sure would help.
Despite that there are still obvious issues here that we all knew were going to hamper this team. Devin Booker is doing it all offensively - and when he goes to the bench - the team immediately struggles. Then there is playing Oso Ighodaro as their starting center, a puzzling decision that has to change soon.
Defensive efficiency cause for massive concern early in season.
By far the biggest problem for the Suns right now is there inability to stop opponents from scoring on them. Despite head coach Jordan Ott claiming that the identity of this group was going to be on the defensive end - and adding a player in Brooks who personifies that - the team are giving up an awful 123.7 points per game.
The only reason that's not the worst number in the entire NBA is because the Brooklyn Nets are somehow conceding 131.2 points. The Suns are still four full points worse off than the Philadelphia 76ers who sit above them, which gives you an idea of the kind of hole they've fallen into early in the season.
.@BillSimmons, you and your crew have some good takes and some that are terrible. You’re the betting guru and even you know better than to actually take this bet. Tell you what, go put your money on this take. When you lose, I will donate the same amount to charity of your… https://t.co/dCLMUdtbMz
— Mat Ishbia (@Mishbia15) October 22, 2025
There's no easy way to fix this either, and it makes the above proclamation from owner Mat Ishbia look a little silly in the early goings. There is plenty of time to change this, but the worry here is that we've already seen the best version of this roster defensively. We know what Brooks will bring, while Williams has probably exceeded expectations in terms of minutes played off the bench.
Yanking Ighodaro from the five could bring some small respite, but he's still going to be part of the rotation. Even backup point guard Collin Gillespie has done his bit defensively, even if his lack of size makes him an easy target. But when Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale are starting games alongside Booker in the absence of Brooks, you can't be surprised when they give up 138 points.
Which is exactly what they did in an overtime loss to the Utah Jazz, while they've also let middling to poor Western Conference outfits such as the Sacramento Kings and L.A. Clippers pile up points on them as well. It is hard to see the introduction of Green helping at all, given he will be there to ease the offensive burden on Booker.
Fans and media alike thought that scoring was going to be the issue in Phoenix this season, even with Booker going off routinely for 30 points. But it has been the inability to defend well for 48 minutes - and let's be honest here a lot less frequently than that - despite the best efforts of the coaching staff that stand out as the biggest problem in The Valley right now.