What's Wrong With The Phoenix Suns?

Some of the Suns' weaknesses have been magnified as of late.

Dec 8, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Tyus Jones (21) dribbles the ball against Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony (50) in the fourth quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images / Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- We are now nearly two months into the 2024-25 season - and the Phoenix Suns have officially reached a potential breaking point.

Continued poor injury fortune, mental lapses on defense, and a difficult schedule have played roles in the 12-11 start for the Suns - but those explanations alone would simply be oversimplifying what has gone wrong.

Three underlying reasons as to why the Suns have struggled over the last month can be found below.

Lacking Explosive Athletes/Size

One of the most glaring issues with the Suns at this juncture has been one for some time - but it got magnified this weekend against bigger, more physical teams.

A large faction of the Suns' roster is between 6'1" and 6'6" - while also boasting similar physical/athletic profiles.

They were simply overmatched by massive bodies such as Goga Bitadze, unique athletes like Bam Adebayo, and players with quick first steps (Anthony Black comes to mind).

Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro are quite possibly the only "game-breaking" athletes on the roster - Grayson Allen, Josh Okogie and Royce O'Neale are quality athletes in a pinch as well, but overall similar builds lessen the impact of the three.

Ighodaro is a phenomenal athlete in and of itself, but lacks the physical edge that Jusuf Nurkic or Mason Plumlee bring to this point. Dunn's regression as a stationary shooter has made it more difficult for his athleticism to make a mark. Kevin Durant and Devin Booker are good, not great athletes that rely more on precision and IQ to make an impact over anything else.

This issue doesn't get exposed all the time, but it did this weekend against very pointed styles of roster builds - and that has to be a concern moving forward.

Inopportune Mistakes

Let's take a look into the fourth quarter of the loss to Miami.

• 10:31 - Ighodaro TO

• 10:17 - Booker charge

• 8:50 - Beal misses FT

• 8:19 - Beal misses second-chance opportunity

• 7:42 - Allen misses FT

• 3:59 - Beal TO

• 3:41 - Butler and-one

• 3:14 - Butler and-one

• 2:22 - Plumlee misses second-chance dunk

• 1:10 - Beal misses second-chance tip

One would argue that the game was already out of reach by the time Butler finished two consecutive and-one looks, but the Suns are absolutely a squad that can close the gap of a game in just a small handful of possessions - so each misstep here is magnified, especially considering where momentum of the game was heading prior to a Butler three-point hit with 4:16 remaining in the contest.

The Suns also must capitalize on second-chance opportunities as a squad that is bottom 10 in the league in offensive rebound percentage.

While fourth quarters haven't necessarily been an issue, situational basketball has - and that is absolutely something that must be noted, especially when execution can be shoddy against teams such as the New Orleans Pelicans and Brooklyn Nets.

Too Reliant on Individual Players on Defense

The Suns are 20th in the league in defensive rating at 114.4 so far this season - and the last three games in particular should be alarming for Suns fans.

The Suns were torn apart against the New Orleans Pelicans and Brandon Ingram. The Miami Heat had their way in the second half of the game Saturday. Jalen Suggs got hot and devastated Phoenix last night.

The common denominator? Being without Durant and Dunn.

As mentioned before, O'Neale is a phenomenally diverse and effective defender, but when he's asked to carry the burden of being a do-it-all defender is simply too much, especially when the majority of players surrounding him are neutral to slight negatives on the defensive end.

The Suns simply don't have a consistent POA stopper without Dunn and a great weak-side helper sans Durant - when a team is so dependent on 2 or 3 individual defenders to make the team defense hum it is something that is not indicative of a top-tier squad.

The Suns will look to get back on track beginning Friday night when they make a quick trip to face the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.