The Phoenix Suns may not have gotten the regular season debut of their new Big Three of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal on Wednesday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but the Suns were still at the top of their game, especially on the offensive end. They simply could not miss, as they shot 60 percent from the field and 54.8 percent from deep (making 17 of their 31 three-point attempts) en route to a 133-115 win.
In a make or miss league, it's difficult to lose when the entire team is shooting the ball at an efficient clip; Durant, in fact, missed just four of his 15 shot attempts, while Booker, who dropped his third 30-piece of the season in three games, made 54.5 percent of his 22 shot attempts. They also got some help from the rest of the roster, with Eric Gordon pitching in 15 points of his own on 6-9 shooting from the field.
While some regression to the mean is to be expected, as there's simply no way that the Suns proceed to shoot this well on a consistent basis, Gordon is setting a high standard for his team, saying that these sorts of offensive explosions should be the rule, not the exception to it.
“We should be unstoppable offensively. This should be the standard. Averaging 120, 130 points. Why not? Score 133 on No. 1 defensive team. This should be standard. That’s how good we can be,” Gordon told reporters after the Suns' win over the Timberwolves, per Duane Rankin of AZ Central.
At the moment, the Suns rank 10th in offensive rating, averaging 113.8 points per 100 possessions. In terms of raw numbers, the Suns are averaging just 113.7 points per game — bumping that up to an average of 120 will require the Suns to play faster, although the team may not have the personnel to do so, as managing the workload of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, not to mention Bradley Beal in his eventual return, will be more important for the team given their ambitions.
But with the talent they have at their disposal, Eric Gordon may have a point in that these offensive explosions should be more commonplace for a Suns team that's not lacking in players who could put the ball through the hoop.