Phoenix Suns' biggest problem on full display despite hot stretch

The Phoenix Suns appear to have turned something of a corner in the last three games, as they have somehow won all of them and have one of the best offenses in the league in that admittedly small run. The fact this has happened with Bradley Beal missing because of a hamstring issue only complicates things, but it is nice to see the Suns win some late in the season.

A victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers was among their most spirited of the campaign, and the belief now is that they could yet sneak into the play-in tournament. Quite what they'll be able to do should that happen remains to be seen, but we might yet get a positive end to what has been a miserable regular season.

The lack of trust in their depth is a massive concern despite winning.

This roster was only ever going to go as far as their stars could take them, yet the offseason business the franchise did was positive. Point guards Tyus Jones and Monte Morris plugged an obvious hole, while Mason Plumlee was a clear upgrade over Drew Eubanks at backup center. Jusuf Nurkic was eventually jettisoned, with Nick Richards an improvement at that spot as well.

Yet through their last 10 games, only Devin Booker and Kevin Durant have averaged more than 30 minutes per night. Now is the point in the season when the stars have to play more in order to win games - not to mention the rotation getting tightened by head coach Mike Budenholzer - but this is an unsustainable way of using his guys.

What that says is that he doesn't trust anybody else outside of those two to pull out some wins, while Beal is the only other player on this team who is averaging more than 30 minutes per game across the entire season to date. Number four? That would be Jones and his 27.9 minutes, although he has seen his role shrink more than perhaps anybody outside of Beal in Phoenix.

What began as the starting floor general has at this stage turned into coming off the bench from time-to-time, while also battling the feisty two-way player Collin Gillespie for minutes. Rookies Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro have gotten plenty more run recently, but both remain well under 20 minutes each night for the season as a whole.

The way to win these days appears to be having two stars with real depth behind them. Yet the Suns have three supposed stars, while the depth is nowhere near as good. That kind of roster construction is now coming back to haunt them, as this recent winning run has shown that they can be competitive when they're locked in.

Imagine if the Suns had some real quality role players behind their top two guys, and what that could have meant for the season. Instead Cody Martin has suddenly taken on some importance as he can defend, while Bol Bol goes from DNP to starting games with seemingly no in-between.

It is hard to see this situation getting better either, thanks to the no-trade clause Beal has. Moving him out for some better depth is the obvious solution, but that doesn't look likely to happen. Instead it may be Durant who is traded, although a "Big 2" behind Booker and Beal doesn't have nearly the same appeal to it. Time to see how far Booker and Durant can take the team this season.