What a Phoenix Suns Small-Ball Lineup Would Look Like
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Gone are the days of traditional basketball, and despite inking center Deandre Ayton to a massive offer sheet, the Phoenix Suns understand where the game is heading.
Three-point shooting, advanced analytics and positionless basketball is now the prominent tidal wave of the modern day NBA.
The arrival of "small-ball" team play hasn't completely erased big men from the equation, but players in the mold of Ayton (still sizeable but athletic and somewhat versatile) are required to keep pace across the league.
This was evident in their series loss against the Mavericks, as the Suns simply weren't able to adjust to Dallas spreading the floor offensively.
In Bleacher Report's latest article that builds the best small-ball lineup for each squad, the Suns (at least on paper) have a favorable starting five if everybody is healthy.
Phoenix Suns' Small-Ball Lineup
The Lineup: Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson and Dario Šarić
"An ability to counter small-ball lineups was one of the Phoenix Suns' lone weaknesses last season, and it may have cost them the series against the Dallas Mavericks. Now, with Dario Šarić returning from a torn ACL, they should have that element back (or at least be closer to it)," said author Andy Bailey.
"Phoenix has already thrived with three-wing looks like the one above. Inserting Cameron Johnson for starter Jae Crowder is mostly an effort to get more shooting on the floor, but Crowder would probably be fine there as well.
"Adding Šarić, a career 35.7 percent three-point shooter, to those wings should pull opposing 5s away from the rim and give Chris Paul a little more operating room inside."
This strategy takes the likes of Deandre Ayton and Jae Crowder off the floor, something the Suns may not exactly be keen on doing.
However, in the heat of the offseason, it is fun to think about the different possible lineups the Suns could piece together.
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