Three Bold Predictions for Suns This Season

The 2023-24 Phoenix Suns will tip off their preseason slate in less than a month, and the regular season will commence shortly after on Tuesday, Oct. 24.

The new season will come with a lot of unfamiliarity at first with Monty Williams not roaming the sideline for the first time since 2019 and Chris Paul donning a Warriors uniform after three wonderful seasons in the Valley.

The Suns are also ushering in star guard Bradley Beal, former NBA champion coach Frank Vogel, and a slew of veteran minimum players hoping to contribute to a top level title contender. The sky is truly the limit for Phoenix, but there still are some things that both the team and individual players can accomplish this season that not many would expect.

Three bold predictions for the 2023-24 Phoenix Suns:

Devin Booker Will Average 30 Points Per Game

Booker is known as one of the most gifted scorers in the game as it is, but he just set a career-high points per game figure last season at 27.8. It's reasonable to assume that the former All-NBA performer's scoring production will remain steady, especially with the presence of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal.

However, the uncertainty surrounding Durant's durability coupled with the lack of a "pure" point guard will likely hand Booker the most on-ball reps he's seen since the bubble. His shooting diet and volume will likely stay similar to what we've previously seen, but it's also easy to see the efficiency tick up, namely from the three point line. It's not inconceivable for Booker to hit that figure especially with context of consistent improvement being added.

Eric Gordon Will Hit 200 Three-Pointers

Gordon was likely the biggest signing the Suns made in free agency. A skilled three-and-d wing on paper, Gordon is known as a dangerous three point marksman. Despite this tag, the former Clipper hasn't hit 200 threes in a season since 2018-19 with Houston. The combo guard has also had some down seasons from an efficiency perspective.

Despite all of this, 200 three-pointers this season might be attainable.

First, Gordon's shot diet is expected to be almost solely from behind the arc. He's averaged around five three-point attempts per game the last two seasons on top of around three two-point attempts. It's likely his usage in Phoenix will more closely resemble that of his years next to James Harden in Houston.

Secondly, this will be the best situation he's been in since those juggernaut Houston squads, and all the spacing the Booker-Durant-Beal lineups will provide is an ideal scenario for a sniper such as Gordon.

Lastly, his 22 game sample with the Clippers last season showed he can still shoot efficiently with volume. He hit 42% of his attempts, while taking five threes per game. If he takes eight threes a game and hits three while playing around 70 games like last year, he would hit 210.

The Suns Will Win 60 Games

This may not sound like a hot take from the surface, but there are potential roadblocks that may prevent this from being reached.

The NBA is much more balanced now than potentially any other time this century, which makes results more volatile on a game-to-game basis. The Suns also have to integrate many new players and there may be a slower than anticipated start to the season as players and coaches get more acclimated with each other.

The Suns' big three all have potential durability concerns in the regular season as well. Despite all of this, the 2023-24 Suns are a team that could potentially have the best chemistry in the league, while also possibly having the most potent offense. The defense is expected to improve under coach Vogel as well, Booker is expected to take yet another jump, and Beal should be revitalized in a good situation.

One thing is for certain- this should be an extremely thrilling season even if none of these predictions come to fruition.