Suns Receive Mediocre Grade for First Half Performance

The Phoenix Suns may want to boost their level of play in the second half of the season.

In a CBS Sports article written by Brad Botkin giving midseason grades to every NBA team, the Suns received a letter grade of C. For a team that made the NBA Finals in 2020 and had the best record in the league last year, a C is nothing to write home about.

In the article, Botkin goes into the Phoenix’s season by stating:

“Last year's Suns outscored opponents by 6.2 points per 100 non-garbage-time possessions with Devin Booker off the floor, according to Cleaning The Glass. This year, they've been outscored by 6.0 per 100 without him. Chris Paul's inside-the-arc efficiency has dropped, and the spacing hasn't been the same with Jae Crowder out of the picture and Cameron Johnson injured for all but eight games.

"Nobody is putting pressure on the rim, nobody's getting to the free throw line and, with Booker nursing a groin injury, Phoenix has lost 12 of its last 14 games. Damion Lee (48.5 percent from deep, 55.6 percent on wide-open 3s) has exceeded expectations and Landry Shamet and Jock Landale have had their moments, but this team desperately needs to get healthy and find a sensible Crowder trade.”

While Paul is a legend of the game and will certainly make his way into the Hall of Fame in the future, at 37-years-old he can not do the same things he once was able to do in his prime. Paul is currently on pace to have his worst scoring year of his career averaging 13.1 points a game, unimpressive for a guy who is supposed to be the second-best option behind Booker.

It's clear that the Suns missed Crowder’s presence when Johnson went down with a torn meniscus. Phoenix struggled to put together a competent rotation to replace the two forwards, among other issues.

Botkin’s assessment of the Suns injuries is correct. After losing Booker to a groin injury, the Suns have completely lost their identity as a team. A once dominant squad has turned into a shell of themselves not showing the same fight and energy that took them to the NBA Finals in 2020.

There is hope for Phoenix, however. Johnson returned last night to face the Brooklyn Nets and helped propel the Suns to a 117-112 victory. Paul and Booker have sat for an extended period of time and both should return fully healthy soon which would give the Suns a huge sigh of relief.

The NBA trade deadline is just around the corner and if rumors are correct, the Suns will not only ship off Crowder but they also just might make a major trade that could shake up the dynamic in the Western Conference.

Even though the Suns received a C grade for their first half performance, Phoenix has plenty of time to turn everything around.