Story by
Suns Are Showing Promise but a Major Weakness Keeps Holding Them Back
- Story by
- Suns Are Showing Promise but a Major Weakness Keeps Holding Them Back
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
The Phoenix Suns (1-3) couldn't quite bridge a few major statistical advantages the Denver Nuggets (3-2) held in a 127-120 loss Friday night.
This isn't to say that there aren't any positives to take out of the NBA Cup defeat. Miles Bridges had the best performance in his young career with the Suns. The five-man bench rotation that Jordan Ott will rely on frequently this season put together quality stretches of play.
Advertisement
Follow the positives in more detail below, as well as the overarching concerns the team must work to reconcile moving forward.
Suns Bench Flashes Positive Impact
The five-man group Ott will rely on frequently off the bench came through on Friday.
Collin Gillespie was the conspicuous standout. The sixth man made four-three point looks, generated five blocks/steals, dished out 10 assists, and was an overall major positive for the night.
Jordan Goodwin, Luke Kennard, Ryan Dunn, and Oso Ighodaro has moments to shine as well. Goodwin forms a fearsome defensive tandem alongside Gillespie, and made three connections from downtown as well. Kennard was flashing an ability to create clean looks off the dribble once again. Dunn pieced together several standout defensive possessions.
Advertisement
To put a bow on the unit, Ighodaro's re-entrance into the lineup was a net positive from the start. The center made a return from injury, making an impact across the margins over 21 minutes of action. His performance wasn't perfect, but an impact was made.
These Don't Outweigh One Major Concern
The Suns very clearly have an issue on the defensive side of the ball.
One can point to the 7-9 performance from beyond the arc by Christian Braun as unsustainable.
However, the 14 combined three-point connections between Braun and Jamal Murray were very much the product of lackadaisical defensive coverage . There were far too many occasions where Dillon Brooks (and other defenders) rotated/made a closeout too late on a kick-out to Braun. As far as Murray goes, the All-Star guard got whatever he wanted in the third quarter.
Advertisement
Between converting on given free-throw attempts and draining four three-point looks during the period, Murray made a buffer that gave Denver enough runaway to overcome another quiet scoring night by Jokic.
That's perhaps the most disheartening tidbit from the loss. The Suns were the beneficiary of an 18-point, five turnover performance by Jokic and still had to play catch-up over the course of the second half.
The personnel is still in place (to an extent) to succeed. However, the clock is ticking for Ott to find the right balance in offensive/defensive groupings.
The Suns return to action on Monday night in a road game against the Golden State Warriors.
