The Phoenix Suns are about to have their last stand this season in The Valley, and there is zero indication that they will have what it takes to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder even once.
Increasing pace could finally give Suns advantage over Thunder
One area where they may just be able to create some separation to win the game however is the pace at which they play, with head coach Jordan Ott already admitting as much.
"We've got to get the space, got to play faster, got to create more advantages early in the clock. This defense, it's hard to crack on one action. Might be multiple."
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) April 26, 2026
Jordan Ott on keys to Game 4 vs OKC after losing Game 3 to fall down 3-0 in best-of-7 series.
"Shoot more 3s.… pic.twitter.com/nzQWO2Py4K
In a bizarre statistical anomaly, both the Suns and Thunder to date in this series have somehow played at the exact same pace of 96.83. Not sure what the odds would have been on that but it rarely happens.
This is more to do with the Thunder however, who are playing at the pace they want to offensively, while also ensuring that almost every look the Suns get is a difficult one thanks to how quickly they shut down space.
The real worry here however is in the fact that the Thunder were actually quicker during the regular season (100.37), while the Suns were even slower (98.14). You are also not going to be able to rush the NBA’s best defense (106.5) during the regular season into doing things they don’t want to either.
Clearly then the Suns are going to have to break from the norm to surprise Oklahoma City, although there is reason to believe that they might actually be able to achieve this. Collin Gillespie can push the tempo, while some more Jamaree Bouyea could provide a short-term boost during the game.
Really though it is the inability of Mark Williams to suit up that could force the team’s hand here, why not go super small and see what happens? The Thunder are going to be bigger regardless, while rookie Khaman Maluach has done all he can to this point despite limited run during the regular season to keep them at bay.
The problem is the Thunder are generally as quick as they are big, but if trying to match them physically hasn’t worked (and the referees haven’t helped), then attempting to outrun them seems like the way to go down swinging at this point.
Outside of a hot shooting night coach Ott won’t be able in a single game to make the Suns suddenly elite on either end of the court. But he can make them move the ball at a pace that could surprise the Thunder. It might just represent their best chance at sending this game back to Oklahoma City.
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