Three Things Suns Need to Emphasize in 2023-24

After a very successful offseason, the Phoenix Suns have much to look forward to as the season opener against the Golden State Warriors quickly approaches.

Despite having a lot to feel good about, every great team has holes and reasons for trepidation.

What areas do the Suns need to focus on to join the ranks of the all-time great teams to win a championship?

Defense

The Suns were a relatively strong defensive team last season, ranking 6th in the entire league in scoring defense. Many basketball pundits believe that ranking will take a nosedive this season, although the reasonings associated with those beliefs are puzzling.

Frank Vogel has coached top-10 defenses the majority of his coaching career, and is known to be one of the strongest defensive minds in the sport. Trading Chris Paul for Bradley Beal at this stage is largely a wash. Jusuf Nurkic hasn't been a strong defender in several years, but it's very possible Vogel can get the most out of the big man.

Drew Eubanks is possibly an upgrade over former Suns center Jock Landale simply due to an athletic advantage.

The upgrades made on the wings can't be overstated. Josh Okogie remains a versatile POA defender that plays relentless defense against both point guards and wings. Eric Gordon, Grayson Allen, Yuta Watanabe, and Keita Bates-Diop make up a group of switchable defenders that lean on high IQ to play passable defense.

Bol Bol is a true wild-card look Vogel can throw at other teams, assuming the talented young player can focus on protecting the rim instead of block-chasing.

There's no denying there's still a reason to be skeptical of the ceiling of this team's defense, but some encouraging flashes in preseason action simply make it a room-for-improvement perspective rather than a red flag.

Rebounding

Once again, the Suns finished the 2022-23 season 11th in team rebounding. That is a strong figure, but also is one of the most obvious ways this team can improve in 2023-24.

Nurkic comes into the year as the only dominant rebounder, but players such as Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Eubanks can make rebounding a team-driven effort that becomes a strength of the team.

Health

The big three Phoenix possesses is at the top of the NBA talent-wise, but health is now a true concern for every one of the three, particularly Durant.

Durant has fought through a wide array of injuries post-achilles, and has only played in 184 games in the last four seasons. The truth is, when he's on the court he's still arguably a top-three player on the planet.

But at 35-years-old, his body might be wearing down quicker than it should be. The hope is the Suns' renowned training staff coupled with a forward-thinking coaching group can balance Durant's workload to maximize the amount of time he'll see the court this season.

Beal and Booker have also battled through some injuries in the last four-plus seasons, namely hamstring issues. Both have well-documented nagging hamstring problems, and both missed around 30 games last season.

Injuries can happen to anyone, but this feels like a situation where one injury could derail a special season.