How will the Phoenix Suns fare going into the 2022 NBA Playoffs with Devin Booker and Chris Paul leading the way once again?
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The notion that the Phoenix Suns were a one hit wonder following their Western Conference Championship was flat out ridiculous. With the way this roster is built around Chris Paul and Devin Booker, it is almost impossible to not be a championship contender in this modern NBA.
Everything from an All-Star caliber big-man with matchup immunity to strong leadership and buy-in from the rest of the cast has led to the Suns having the best record in the league at 43-10. Of course, it isn’t just their big-4 that has resulted in becoming title favorites as the Suns are perhaps the deepest team in the league.
Guys like JaVale McGee, Cameron Johnson, Jae Crowder (slight regression), and even Bismack Biyombo have been contributing to a Phoenix Suns team that has been devastating to go up against.
They are currently 3rd in the league in ORTG with 113.7 and second in the league in DRTG with 106. The main thing that jumps out when watching the Suns play is their incredible shot selection. This is validated by the eye-test of course, but also with the fact that they are incredibly efficient.
What strengths do the Phoenix Suns have going into the Playoffs.
To keep it plain and simple: the mid-range and defense.
The Phoenix Suns are a team that’s built to be in the Playoffs in the modern era. Defenses in the postseason tend to tighten up around the rim and on the perimeter, limiting drives into the lane and shots taken from beyond the arc.
The Suns are an incredible potent mid-range shooting team with Devin Booker shooting 46.6% from mid-range and Chris Paul draining a whopping 51.1% of his patented mid-range shots (most notably from the right elbow). PHX as a whole is 3rd in the league in mid-range field goal percentage at 44.6%.
So essentially, the Phoenix Suns are elite at shooting a shot that defenses want them to shoot come Playoff time. The other aspect of what makes the Suns lethal in the postseason is their defense.
Zone defense has taken over the league when it comes down to Playoff basketball and having guys like Jae Crowder and Mikal Bridges out on the perimeter will be massive for the Suns.
In all honesty, the 5-man lineup of Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, and DeAndre Ayton come Playoff time will be as lethal as they come on both ends of the floor. Their DRTG is 109 while their ORTG is a whopping 7 points higher at 116.
Weaknesses that the Phoenix Suns could work on.
The Suns don’t exactly have a weakness that will result in their inevitable downfall in the postseason. Rather, they can merely strive to improve on a few aspects of their game. Free throws for one, aren’t an issue but with the way they play, it’s expected that they wouldn’t attempt as many.
They rank 25th in the league in FTA but when they take to the line, they usually drain them as the team as a whole shoots close to 80% from the charity stripe. The Phoenix Suns average 42.4 drives per game, 21 less than the OKC Thunder. With them not trying to penetrate into the paint as often, lower free throws are expected.
The notion that the Suns are a below average 3-point shooting team is false. It would be more accurate to say that they are a subpar pull-up 3P shooting team as they attempt merely 8.4 a game, knocking down 33.2%.
The Phoenix Suns are constructed in a way that promotes catch-and-shoot 3-point shooting as they are 6th in the league in C&S 3P% at 37.8%.
What can the Phoenix Suns do come trade deadline?
It’s quite obvious that the top 7 for the Phoenix Suns will not be involved in any trades prior to or on Feb 10th. Despite the fact that the postseason usually results in teams putting out an 8-man rotation, moves around the periphery could never hurt a team, even if it’s the best team in the league.
Jalen Smith, an agile rim protector with solid PnR IQ, has gotten interest from teams across the league like the Clippers, Pistons, Wizards, and Cavaliers. With DeAndre Ayton, JaVale McGee, and Bismack Biyombo rounding out the center rotation, having Smith might not be in the Suns’ best interest.
If the over-under on whetehr or not the Suns make a move before the deadline is set at 1.5, it will most certainly be quite the interesting bet. Jalen Smith is almost as good as traded away from the Suns and Dario Saric is also someone who the Suns haven’t shown much interest in keeping.
What makes that bet interesting is if the Suns package Smith and Saric together in a trade for an on-ball creator like say, Devonte Graham, or is they separate out both the players in two trades.
Who are the Suns’ potential opponents in the first round of the Playoffs?
The Phoenix Suns sit firm atop the Western Conference standings with a 2.5 game lead on the Golden State Warriors. With the latter dealing with guys out, it’s safe to say that the Suns will continue to hold the 1 seed until the end of the season.
With the new play-in format being carried over from last season, it is almost impossible to tell who the Suns will face off against in the first round. Considering the fact that they’ll be facing the 8th seed and the Lakers and Clippers have the hardest remaining schedule of teams in the play-in race, it could be either of those.
Playing LeBron James and Anthony Davis or a revamped Clippers lineup in the first round would be a cruel ‘reward’ for snagging the number one seed but with the way they’ve been playing, they’d be favorites by a long shot.
