Suns must clean up this Achilles heel before the playoffs

After reshaping their identity from a season ago following the blockbuster Kevin Durant trade, the Phoenix Suns went from missing the postseason to being right in the thick of the Western Conference playoff picture.

Their offensive rating of 115.7 places them in the middle of the pack at No. 15 in the NBA, while their defensive rating of 113.2 slots them No. 8 in basketball just a season after finishing 28th in that category, according to Basketball Reference.

The offense should only improve as guys like Devin Booker and Jalen Green get healthy, while the defense remains the team’s calling card. The Suns rank among the league leaders in steals, deflections and loose balls collected.

While likely not a title contender, the Suns are a competitive team who could no doubt make noise in the playoffs as an underdog.

With that being said, the Suns simply must address their biggest Achilles heel that’s holding them back.

Suns need to clean up frequency of technical, flagrant fouls

While a big reason for the Suns’ turnaround this season is rooted in their hustle, grit and willingness to play hard-nosed basketball every night, the drawback continues to be the frequency with which the Suns pick up technical and flagrant fouls.

Dillon “The Villain” Brooks has changed the culture in Phoenix and is a big reason for their defensive turnaround, but he currently leads the league with 14 technical fouls — two away from a mandatory one-game suspension. Book isn’t far behind with seven technicals of his own — tied for fifth-most in the NBA.

On the flagrant foul front, Brooks is second in the league with four flagrants — just behind Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert who’s collected five such infractions. Also in the category is Grayson Allen, whose two flagrants rank tied for 10th most in the league. That includes this shove of Oklahoma City Thunder big man Chet Holmgren that earned a viral reaction from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander:

Tempers also flared in the Suns’ Jan. 27 win over the lowly Brooklyn Nets, where six technicals and two flagrant fouls were called throughout the course of the game. One of those flagrants was charged to Allen, who followed up his own frustration on a no-call with a shove of a Nets player.

“I feel like as the game went on, the line between a no-call and an altercation got really, really thin,” Allen said after the game.

Allen’s flagrant 1 foul joins the previous flagrant 2 he picked up, giving him three points on flagrant fouls this season. Per NBA rules, if a player exceeds five points through flagrants, they’ll receive an automatic one-game suspension. Brooks has four flagrant 1 fouls, also nearing suspension territory that he’s already flirting with on the technical foul front.

Brooks in particular needs to be especially mindful for the rest of the season, provided league officials seem to keep him on a tighter leash when it comes to doling out technicals and flagrants.

His reputation proceeds him more often than not in that regard.

So, while the Suns playing with fire and intensity is often a good thing, it’s coming with a clear and obvious drawback.

At the time of writing, just one game separates the No. 4 seed through No. 7 seed in the West. A one-game suspension for Brooks or Allen moving forward could result in a Suns loss they can ill afford as far as the standings are concerned.

Playing with fire is the Suns’ biggest strength, but it could come back to bite them down the stretch if they keep racking up technicals and flagrants at the rate we're seeing.