While the Phoenix Suns have been playing better of late, there is still a sense that they’re a fatally flawed team that can only go so far in the playoffs.
One reason that plenty of people feel the team is a bit short of being a championship contender is the fact that it doesn’t have a true point guard.
Devin Booker, who has been masquerading as the Suns’ point guard this season, missed their last three games, but in his absence Bradley Beal has taken on that role, and he says he has embraced it, per Duane Rankin.
"I've embraced the role a lot more."
Bradley Beal on playing more of a point guard role. Had 20 points, eight assists in #Suns win over #Raptors.
On facing #Celtics: "Boston is electric, man. It's like, what can't they do." pic.twitter.com/K9LoWK3smQ
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 8, 2024
In those three games Booker has missed, Beal had a total of 20 assists, and Phoenix won two of them, including a statement win in overtime on Tuesday over the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets.
Phoenix currently sits in sixth place in the Western Conference with a 37-26 record, which is a respectable mark but not exactly a gaudy one.
While they have plenty of star power with Booker, Beal, and Kevin Durant, as well as a better bench than some anticipated, their lack of a real point guard and floor general is evident in some ways.
They’re just 12th in offensive rating, 17th is assist percentage, and 15th in pace, and the fact that they’re only 21st in fast-break points per game reveals their lack of easy baskets.
In addition, the Suns are 12th in defensive rating despite the arrival of head coach Frank Vogel, who is known as a defensive guru.
There is lots of pressure on them to win the NBA championship because of all the draft capital they gave up to get Durant and Beal, but in all likelihood, it won’t happen, at least not this season.
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