Yesterday afternoon Head Coach Earl Watson said that every game they are emphasizing their identity.
Twitter is limited so there was no extended discussion on what exactly that identity is.
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The heart of Earl Watson’s program is love, teamwork, and hard work. Three very important characteristics of a winning team.
It is easy to see these three sports-ethics on display every night. The players and the coaching staff all seem to get along; there are no overly selfish players on the roster attempting to hog the ball and subsequent attention; and having pretty much watched every play of every game, I cannot think of a single moment when a player, let alone the team, ever gave up. They all give their all, and that is a fact.
However, these characteristics are not tangible. They are not something that can be quantified, and they certainly do not guarantee wins.
Having already been bouncing the idea of identity around in my mind a little bit when I saw Watson’s quote, I was digging for some statistics that might decipher what their identity might be. Unfortunately, I ran into something that I cannot get my mind around.
For the love of research, I cannot find their identity:
The Suns are #1 in the league in pace at 104.29 and #10 in scoring average, but #25 in eFG%, #30 in assists with 18.4, and #32 in own blocked field goal attempts.
The Suns aren’t a successful run and gun team…
The Suns are #23 in the league in three-point shot attempts with 22.7 per game, but are also low at #27 in percentage made at 32.3%.
They are #3 in 2pt field goal attempts with 66.1 per game, but are #21 in the league in 2pt field goal percentage at 48.2%.
As mentioned, they are #3 in FGA with 88.8, but are #24 in FG% at 44.1%.
They are #3 in FTA, but #24 in FT% with 75.5%.
The Suns are not a pure shooting team…
The Suns are #5 in charges drawn with .89 per game, but are #26 in contested shots with only 59.6%.
They are #3 in total rebounds at 46.4, but are #23 in blocks with 4.4
They are #6 in steals with 8.7, but #28 in turnovers with 16.1 and #32 in assist to turnover ratio with 1.15.
They are #8 in allowing only 25.5 three-point attempts per game, yet are #31 in 3pt% allowed with 38.1%.
The Suns do a lot of the little things that are important to winning, but they also fail to accomplish enough to really extend the opposition.
The Suns aren’t a defensive lockdown team…
They are #3 in personal fouls drawn with 22.3, but are #32 in personal fouls with 25.6.
They aren’t patient around the ball and tend to make a lot of mistakes that result in fouls
The Suns aren’t savvy or mature…
The Suns are #7 in the league in percentage of plays that are ran in isolation at 8.8%, yet…
The Suns don’t have a Superstar…
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Nov 27, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker reacts in the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Nuggets defeated the Suns 118-114. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
What Does This Mean About Their Identity
The Suns are first in the league in pace (meaning average possessions per game), and yet are shooting at a terrible rate, are not getting assists on plays – which can be attributed to a lot of one on one play from the guards – and, unlike on defense, they are getting their shots blocked at the worst rate in the league.
What’s worse is that the Suns are fouling and turning the ball over consistently, making so many mistakes that they never allow themselves long stretches of taking, and maintaining, control of a game. Their horrible assist to turnover ratio is further evidence of their inability to control the flow of the game, yet they still turn the ball over at a furious rate while playing a lot of one-on-one when the fastbreak doesn’t work out.
If you look at every team’s individual box score from every game played so far this season, the Suns only have two in the top-250 highest assisted games in the league. The ball literally dies in the hands of the ball handler.
Think about this for a second: the Suns are 7th in the league in running isolation plays. They are right on par with the Miami Heat, Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors, and LA Clippers, each team with at least one league-recognized star on the roster. Yet, who on the Suns would fans point to that would be deserving of being iso’d in the offense with any regularity? Furthermore, why would the Suns isolate at all when they can run three (at least capable) point guards on the court at one time, and are obviously trying to push the pace of the game on offense (they are second in the NBA in fastbreak points with 17.8ppg)?
The Suns are playing a quick pace, but are near the bottom in the league in three pointers attempted. Granted they are shooting at a terrible clip, but it is quicker to get to the three-point line on a fast break than the basket, so why aren’t they shooting more three’s? Fast break three’s are also generally taken in better rhythm and often come off a quick pass. This style of offense
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help the percentage of three’s increase (or in the very least scores more points since more three’s are taken and by association more are made as well), and also keeps the defense honest on the shooters, leaving bigs with a little better opportunity to get open quick on the break for the close shot or jam.
Playing a more pass-heavy offense would not only increase the number of assists, but will also better justify the turnovers that the Suns are currently committing. Of the top-10 scoring teams in the league (the Suns are 10th), the Suns are 2nd in turnovers, behind only the Houston Rockets, who are essentially playing with a first-year point guard. Of the top-15 scoring teams, the Suns only slip to 3rd, behind the Brooklyn Nets.
If the Suns weren’t turning the ball over at such an alarming rate than that number wouldn’t be quite so detrimental to their chances at winning. However, since they are turning it over so often, they aren’t scoring as consistently, and they aren’t stopping their opponents from scoring (the Suns are 30th in defensive points allowed with 112.2), their rate of turnovers is killing them.
There is one final argument into what their identity is…Is their identity their youth?
Yes, this team is young, but they also have plenty of veterans in the rotation.
(The years represent the current season as well).
Eric Bledsoe – 7yrs/Leandro Barbosa – 14yrs
Devin Booker – 2yrs/Brandon Knight – 6yrs
T.J. Warren – 3yrs/P.J. Tucker – 11yrs (since his rookie season)
Marquese Chriss – 1yr/Jared Dudley – 11yrs
Tyson Chandler – 16yrs/Alex Len – 4yrs
Right now, if you go ten deep in the rotation, only four players have less than five years experience, and only Devin Booker and Marquese Chriss have played less than three, and Jared Dudley plays nearly ten minutes more per game than Chriss.
It is even hard to say that the Suns’ identity is that they are a young team with so many seasoned veterans and players who have more than two years experience in the league, in the game-to-game rotation.
I cannot discern what the Phoenix Suns identity is.
Maybe that’s their identity?
*All team stats were as of Tuesday, October 29, 2016, mid-Afternoon.
*Team stats are found here on NBA.com
*Additional team stats and individual player information is found here on basketball-reference.com
*Team average age is found here on RealGM.com
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