Grading the Phoenix Suns' starting five at the halfway point of the season

The Phoenix Suns have reach the halfway point of their season, and already it has felt to fans like a long grind. Sitting in the eighth spot in the Western Conference surely wasn't part of the plan here, but thankfully there is still plenty of time to make up some ground.

A first round playoff series at home is still not out of the question for this group, but beyond that, it is anybody's guess as to how this campaign will ultimately finish. What has really helped this team's cause recently though, has been the return of Bradley Beal to the starting lineup.

With the Suns' starting five having finally had a run of games together, the halfway point seems like an ideal time to grade each of their seasons so far.

Whether it is fair or not, each player is graded differently based on what we know about them, and also what they mean to this organization. So Devin Booker's final grade for example may differ to that of Grayson Allen's, but we all know that Booker is the better player. It just so happens that Allen has massively outperformed his role up to this point.

Head coach Frank Vogel has utilized each of these players as best he could so far - and in the case of Kevin Durant we could be about to see him used in a different way moving forward - but the reality is that everybody needs to up their game some if this franchise is to win a first ever championship.

Devin Booker

As has always been the case, Booker continues to do whatever the Suns need him to. Over the span of half a campaign, he has been asked to be this team's point guard, try and form a potent backcourt with Bradley Beal, and be the unquestioned leader of this team. The fact he has managed all three successfully means he is going to grade highly here.

Yet there seems to be the final ingredient missing for Booker right now, which has in part contributed to the struggles of this team in the fourth-quarter of games so far this season. In the playoffs last season, Booker led the league in scoring, at 33.7 per night. That explosiveness has been lacking so far, although it is fair to point out he had Chris Paul next to him as the floor general back then.

This is also reflected in the All-Star voting, with Booker currently much further down the fan voting list as he should be. Not that this should be held against him, although the missed games through injury at the start of the campaign certainly will be.

Trying to win a championship is hard, and so too is doing so as the face of the franchise. Durant seems more than happy to play second fiddle to Booker, while his teammates clearly defer to him as well. So it isn't that he has had a bad season up to this point - quite the opposite in fact - but it just feels like there should have been, more? Luckily, Booker still has time to add to this solid score.

First Half Grade: B-

Bradley Beal

Beal's season to date could not have differed more from Booker's, as a combination of back and ankle issues has seen him play in only 16 games to date. The 31.8 minutes per night the third lowest mark of his career, while the 17.9 points are worlds away from the 30 a night scorer we've seen Beal be in the past.

It is not all bad though, as in the last 10 games, the Suns rank an impressive sixth in offensive rating (121.0). That number has coincided with the return of Beal from the nasty ankle sprain that caused him to miss some time, and he has been quick to gel with his teammates in the starting five.

This was most apparent in the recent wins over the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings, with Beal more than happy to take the ball out of Booker's hands some. Against the Kings in particular, there were a number of notable plays on the defensive end, while the 30-year-old does not look to have lost much of his bounce or athleticism with how quickly he can get up the court.

Despite that optimistic end to the first half for Beal, the franchise is right to want more out of him. He wasn't on the court early on when they found themselves dropping winnable games - most notably two on the bounce to the San Antonio Spurs - and it hurt their chances of finishing in the top four spots out West.

First Half Grade: C

Grayson Allen

Grayson Allen has been the real success story of the Suns' season so far. He leads the league in 3-point shooting percentage at a career high 48 percent, and recently made an absurd nine in that aforementioned win over the Kings. Better again, Allen was knocking these shots down when none of his superstar teammates had it going.

He was hardly a throw-in as part of the Deandre Ayton for Jusuf Nurkic deal - coming over from the Milwaukee Bucks in that three-team trade - but nobody saw this coming from the player. He's started every game he's played in for the Suns so far this season, and the truth is there are times they would have been lost without his production.

So good has Allen been, that the Suns may now be priced out of bringing him back beyond this season. He is an unrestricted free agent, and although the organization have his Bird Rights, they would be doing well to get him at a figure per season that also fits within their already maxed out cap sheet.

It goes beyond the shooting with Allen though, and although that is by far his greatest asset, crucially he is not a black hole on the defensive end. The Suns can afford to have him out there in big moments because he pulls his weight, and almost always knocks down the open shot when presented with the opportunity. The Suns' third best player, he is the only one to receive an A grade as well.

First Half Grade: A+

Kevin Durant

Of the Suns' three superstar level talents, Durant so far has had the best season. Some of his fourth-quarter numbers are troubling, but he sits third in 3-point shooting percentage at 47.1 percent, while the 28.9 points per contest is higher than on two of the four occasions he has won the NBA's scoring title in the past.

Offensively Durant has done it all for this group, and at 35-years-old he is still perhaps the safest option in the league with the ball in his hands to get you a bucket. He is showing no signs of slowing down, despite the massive load he has been asked to carry this season. If anything he seems to be enjoying the challenge more than ever.

Having an inside enforcer might be beneficial for Durant, but if anything manning the center position himself is probably going to be the direction head coach Frank Vogel takes this roster in the postseason. We saw a glimpse of this recently, with Durant himself more than happy to chip in on the defensive end.

What more could you ask for from one of the 20 best players to ever do it - and perhaps the best scorer the league has ever seen - than to see them talk enthusiastically about defending at the highest level possible too. Durant hasn't been perfect, but then again, neither have the Suns. He's been brilliant.

First Half Grade: B+

Jusuf Nurkic

The biggest question mark in this starting five, but center Nurkic has done really well to silence a lot of the doubters who questioned why on earth the Suns would give up a former first overall pick in Ayton for a player who has had his fair share of injury issues.

Yet at this point in the campaign it is Nurkic who has missed all but two games - and both of those were for personal reasons that had nothing to do with injury - while Ayton has been literally snowed in and unable to go and play a game for the Trail Blazers. You don't win a championship playing the first half of the season and missing the second but so far, Nurkic has delivered.

Coach Vogel has managed to get some juice out of him defensively, while his passing, cutting and willingness to do whatever dirty work around the fringes that needs to be handled has been excellent. About the only negative here is the aforementioned moving of Durant to the center position down the road, and what that will mean for Nurkic.

He was also recently benched for the entire fourth-quarter of an ugly loss to the L.A. Clippers and while that could just have been coach Vogel using a lost game to try some things out, it did feel kind of telling. As much as he has performed well in his role during the regular season, the role itself is likely to diminish as time goes on. Still, this has been a win for the Suns and Nurkic to this point.