How Suns Can Return to Win Column

The Phoenix Suns have had an underwhelming homestand.

Phoenix started off the week with a win against the Golden State Warriors before humbling losses to the duo of New York-based teams that made trips to the Valley this week.

The Suns now stand at 13-12 and face a proverbial must-win game tonight against the Washington Wizards - one of the three truly awful teams in the NBA.

While the Wizards are bad, they still are an NBA team and can't be taken lightly.

The positive side of facing the Wizards is that they have multiple glaring weaknesses. The Suns can exploit many of those weaknesses without much thought.

If Phoenix is able to get back to the basics, they should return to the win column.

Push Fast Break Opportunities

One of the critiques of the Chris Paul-led Suns was the offense was too methodical and they hardly pushed the pace at any given time.

This year hasn't been much different.

The Suns currently rank near the bottom of adjusted pace in the entire league, and that shouldn't be the case.

Tonight of all nights is the time for Phoenix to assert itself as an offense that can be both efficient and fast-paced.

The Wizards have one of the worst defenses in the league, and if Devin Booker can exploit that (he is one of the best transition players in the league), Phoenix should be able to win comfortably no matter what the Wizards do offensively.

Crash the Glass- On Both Ends

The Wizards rank dead last in rebounds given up per game at 49.

They rank second-to-last in offensive boards given up per game at 13.

While the Suns have had issues with consistent boxing out/actually securing rebounds, this is a game in which Jusuf Nurkic and co. should be able to assert themselves.

Phoenix needs to rebound well on the defensive end so they actually have chances to push the ball in transition and get easy buckets, and they need to rebound on the offensive end to hopefully slow down Washington's surprisingly fast-paced attack.

Nurkic is key here. He paces the Suns with 9.9 RPG and just came out of the Brooklyn matchup with a 22-rebound effort.

Welcome Poole's Aggressiveness

Jordan Poole has been one of the most polarizing figures in the NBA the last two seasons.

The talented guard and former member of the Warriors' championship run in 2022 has reverted back to more of his rookie self than the player that was a key piece on a title team.

While there's no doubt that Poole is very gifted, his lack of court vision, poor shot selection and perceived reckless play all come as a detriment to his productivity.

Poole still has the ability to take over games, as he had a 30-point, 8-assist performance in Washington's win against the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.

However, the inconsistent nature of his game will usually make opposing defenses welcome a high-volume shot diet.

If Poole scores a lot of points on a lot of shots, chances are the Wizards' offense stalled in other aspects and the team wasn't as productive as it should've been.

Phoenix can't completely ignore Poole, but it's better for him to take the bulk of the looks than the efficient Kyle Kuzma.