The Phoenix Suns were in dire straits just three games into the season. They gave up an average of 129 points in those three games and were blown out by over 40 points twice, which resulted in the firing of head coach Earl Watson.
However, they have stabilized somewhat under interim coach Jay Triano, who has helped the team become more competitive through improvements on defense and sharing the ball, according to Dan Bickley of AZ Central Sports. Triano is unsure as to exactly what has triggered the improvement, but he did cite the team's goal of improving their overall competitiveness and accountability.
“I don’t have an answer (to the overall improvement),” Triano said. “Our goal was to have these guys compete at a high level and hold guys accountable. The other night, as bad as it was with 29 turnovers, I’m OK with it as long as they’re effort turnovers. If they’re lazy turnovers, then I have an issue.”
While the Suns are still dead-last in the league in terms of giving up the most points, they have at least raised their defensive rating to 23rd during Triano’s time in charge. Meanwhile, they have upped their assist totals to 22 per game over their last eight games as they continue to learn how to play without Eric Bledsoe running the point.
The Suns will still be one of the worst teams in the league by virtue of their youth and relative lack of talent. But at least they are competing on defense and are sharing the ball much better under Triano than they were with Watson, which are still steps in the right direction.
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