The graph that proves the Phoenix Suns don't need a point guard

They say that winning papers over any cracks that a team may have, and right now that is proving true for the Phoenix Suns. At 33-22 and with only 27 games remaining in the regular season, they have done a great job of climbing the Western Conference after a rocky start to their campaign.

It is unclear if fans will be happy if the Suns ultimately finish in the fifth spot they currently occupy - but given they were out of the play-in tournament spots earlier in the season - they have come a long way in a short time. One topic of conversation that continues to be brought up however is if the Suns need a true point guard to reach their true potential.

With Devin Booker and Bradley Beal doing a great job of splitting these duties, they have done a wonderful job of being the team's focal point when on the court.

So much so that a recent graph created by the always excellent "Basketball Index" has gone one step further, and given evidence that supports the argument that the Suns don't need a point guard. This has more to do with Booker than Beal - the latter has missed a couple of games with a hamstring issue but is expected back soon - although Beal being on this team allows Booker to flourish as well.

So looking at the above graph - not only is Booker one of the best scoring guards in the league this season - but he is also one of the best passers as well. This data is clearly backed up by the eye test too, because to watch the Suns is to see Booker routinely create for others with his still underrated passing ability.

Not only are Booker's seven assists per game this season a career high, it is the 13th best mark in the league. Taking out players like LeBron James who are offensive hubs for their teams and factoring in only lead ball-handlers, and Booker rises to 10th in this category. Perhaps best of all, the 27.5 points per game is only just below his career high of 27.8 from last season.

In a vacuum then the Suns clearly don't need a true point guard out there. Beal takes over sometimes, Booker does most of the work, and it allows head coach Frank Vogel to instead add a deadly shooter like Grayson Allen to the mix. If the Suns were to decide on a floor general to be out there, they would be playing alongside Booker and Beal.

With both Kevin Durant and Jusuf Nurkic not going to lose their starting spots to another guard, this would leave Allen as the odd man out. Not a good idea. Another interesting factor here - which has likely indirectly helped the Suns be able to play without a table-setter - is just how good Durant also is at playmaking. Basketball Index again having the data to support this line of thinking.

So when fully healthy we can now say that the Suns are perfectly fine as they are. When Durant moves to the center and coach Vogel can put another offensive player out there in place of Nurkic, they have the potential to be even better. The only roadblock then is injury, but that is the same for every organization in the league.

Beal missing as much time as he has this season with his various complaints has hampered the Suns, and yet Booker has still excelled. If Booker himself was to miss an extended period of time, that would be a disaster to their still small title aspirations. Then they really would need to have a backup point guard, having missed out on a few potential candidates who went elsewhere at the trade deadline.

But the Suns could still yet be active in the buyout market, having already secured the services of Thaddeus Young for the stretch run to the playoffs. Picking up a guard in this way would only be to use in case of emergency, as there is nobody out there the organization could pick up who would cause the Suns to move away from playing through Booker. We can now say this with certainty.