For all the talk about the Phoenix Suns this offseason, they were poised to be a scrappy defensive team. Well, that's at least what Dillon Brooks and head coach Jordan Ott collectively shared a vision for.
Now, the team has allowed 116, 129, and 133 points through the first three games of the season. Granted, the last two games were against the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets, two elite offensive units.
Regardless, both men feel that it isn't a worthy enough excuse. Brooks chalked it up to one underlying issue postgame against the Nuggets.
“Communication,” Brooks said via AZCentral's Duane Rankin on X (formerly Twitter).
The latter is a major issue, but it makes sense considering the state of the season. The team is only three games in, missing Jalen Green due to a lingering hamstring injury, and has a new cast of players.
Not to mention, this is Ott's first season as the Suns head coach, so there are still some tweaks in his rotations and schemes.
Still, the standard is high, and the team hasn't yet met it. It did against the Sacramento Kings in the second half of their lone win of the season, so good things could be on the horizon.
However, one half of basketball across six shouldn't justify a resounding defensive scheme just yet.
It's not just Dillon Brooks who criticized the Suns' defense
Currently, the Suns have the second-worst defensive rating in the league. Again, this is a small sample size but one that Brooks will continually dissect as the season progresses. His teams have improved drastically since he arrives.
The Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets all had adopted defensive philosophies and principles because of him. But Ott will also continually look at those advanced metrics and see what goes wrong.
Much like Brooks, the head coach knows that the current point totals won't cut it.
“We've got to be better,” Ott said via Rankin on X (formerly Twitter). “There's no excuse for that. We're going to have to be better defensively. This is a defensive minded group at times and we just lose our way, but we're three games in.
“There's a sample size to all this. A lot that is who you play. I think we've played some good offenses. We'll keep looking. Find ways to guard better, find ways to attack better, but 133, doesn't matter where you're at, that's probably not going to get it done.”
The Suns can make strides defensively
In this small sample size, Mark Williams is making a gradual return to being the team's starting center. The franchise has microscopically managed his minutes. Also, they were on a back-to-back, so Williams wasn't going to play in either half.
In his first game, he had a plus-15 in the box score, as well as two crucial blocks. His defensive impact as a rim protector and shot alterer go under the radar.
Furthermore, inserting Green back into the starting lineup can do wonders. While he hasn't been labeled as an All-NBA defender, his athleticism can pair nicely with the rest of the group.
Plus, pairing him with Brooks and Ott can help him use that athleticism to navigate screens, hound ball handlers at the point of attack, and play cross-matches more effectively.
Phoenix will travel to Salt Lake City and take on the Utah Jazz on Monday to conclude a three-game road trip. It might not be how the Suns start the road trip, but how they finish defensively that can help them take something positive away.
