The Phoenix Suns are off to a rough start in the 2016-17 season. Although there have been some bright spots on the team so far, one area is seriously lacking on both offense and defense: the 3-Pointer.
More from Valley of the Suns
The Suns aren’t living and dying by the 3-point shot right now, they’re just dying by it. According to NBA.com stats the Suns are second to last in 3P% on offense at 29.9%. In this day and age in the NBA, that’s not acceptable for a team looking to compete consistently. Devin Booker is shooting 27.5%, Eric Bledsoe is shooting 26.2% and Brandon Knight is shooting 24.3% from beyond the stripe. Bledsoe isn’t known for his outside shooting and is a little easier to accept, but Booker and Knight have to shoot better from outside. Period. Both players need to force less from outside, taking what the defense gives them, moving the ball or driving if they aren’t open.
Defensively, the Suns are again second last at guarding the 3-pointer, according to NBA.com. Phoenix is giving up a DFG% of 37.8% for 3-point shots, against a normal FG% of 33.8 for their opponents. That means that opponents that the Suns face normally shoot 33.8% from 3-point range, but against Phoenix they shoot 37.8%. The only team worse than that +4% difference is Dallas at +5%.
The Suns’ inside defense has been much better than their 3-point defense. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Comparing the 3-point numbers to the rest of their defense, Phoenix is yielding a total DFG% of 46% vs a FG% of 45.4 for their opponents for an overall +0.6% difference. This means they’re holding opponents below their average FG% inside the 3-point line but their awful 3-point defense is dragging the entire defense over the line.
In this NBA, teams have to be able to get hot from deep, and also have to be able to shut down an opposing team from there as well. Phoenix hasn’t been able to do either of those consistently this season. Teams that can’t achieve those things when needed are rarely successful in the NBA today. If Phoenix wants to compete with teams for the remainder of the season, they need to work on their 3-point game.
This article originally appeared on 
