The Phoenix Suns built their surprise run to the playoffs last season on high level defensive play. The team finishing ninth in defensive rating (112.9) during the regular season.
Head coach Jordan Ott is surely going to lean into that end of the court again this time out to try and make it back to the postseason, but there offensive potential is being slept on. Particularly in the wake of some offseason moves.
Suns had elite half-court offense before Miles Bridges joined
Of the lineups that qualified last season (over 100 possessions together), the Suns ran a group consisting of Collin Gillespie, Devin Booker, Jalen Green, Royce O’Neale and Oso Ighodaro. In 266 possessions, they had the second highest half-court offensive rating in the league at +22.8. Important for a number of reasons, and it certainly bodes well for the future of Green and Ighodaro in The Valley.
The Suns will be able to put that same group on the court again this time out, with one exception. O’Neale having been traded to the Charlotte Hornets, although his replacement in Bridges has the chance to make this number even better. The Hornets ranking fourth in the same category last season (+16.8) although that was in a whopping 1,044 possessions. Miles ahead of the next highest five some on this list (the 737 of the Denver Nuggets, although they represented three of the top seven half-court groups).
2025-26 Most Efficient Half-Court Offensive Lineups (garbage time excluded)... pic.twitter.com/IUSzitalpi
— Basketball University (@UofBasketball) July 30, 2026
With the San Antonio Spurs taking up a further two spots, that means the remaining two groups were the Suns and a Hornets team featuring Bridges. It stands to reason then that combining those two will be good news for the Suns. It’s not quite that simple, but there remains reason for optimism.
Bridges did have LaMelo Ball setting the table, and the Suns don’t have a player close to his profile on their roster.
O’Neale is also a better and more consistent 3-point shooter than Bridges, although he remains the more complete offensive player. O’Neale’s spacing is what allowed this group to thrive, and that may not be the case when you put Bridges in his position. This remains an excellent spot for the Suns to find themselves, and is a strong indicator of another playoff push.
If the team can again be a top 10 defensive outfit, as well as having one of the best half-court groups in the NBA, they are going to win around 45 games once more.
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