Analyst Says Don't Sleep on Phoenix Suns
PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns have 20 games left in the regular season, and flashes (both good and bad) have been spotted to create a wild range of expectations come playoff time.
With a 36-26 record, the Suns hold the No. 6 spot in the West. Though the injury bug continues to bite Phoenix, there's still a strong sense of hope from the players, organization, fans, and one of the brightest basketball minds in ESPN analyst JJ Redick:
“One of the issues when you decide to build a super team is that you are giving up some roster flexibility and depth. And so this team was always going to struggle in the win-loss column. If one of these guys got hurt, Kevin Durant has missed seven games. Booker now has missed 12 games. Bradley Beal has missed 29 games. They just haven’t had the depth,” Redick shared on First Take (h/t Hardwood Heroics).
“Look [at] their top seven. I put their top seven against almost any team in basketball. When we talk about [Jusuf] Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Eric Gordon, Royce O’Neal, and the Big 3. They all complement each other.
“You can look at lineup data, right? And of any five-man lineup that has played over 250 minutes together. They have one of five of those lineups that have outscored opponents by more than 10 points per 100 possessions. They are a good team when they’re healthy. They’re an absolutely good team,” Redick continued.
“The other thing that I like about their team right now, assuming health in the playoffs, they can play a number of ways. So they can play big with Nurkic, use him as a hub offensively. I think he’s had an outstanding season. They can go small with Kevin Durant at the five and just outshoot you. Grayson Allen has been a perfect complimentary player. He’s having a career year leading the NBA in three-point percentage had another big night last night.”
