After the win against the San Antonio Spurs, the Suns are officially in the Playoffs! The Suns have secured the 4th seed and will have home court advantage as the playoffs get underway. The roster looks a little different from the beginning of the season with the trades that landed Kevin Durant to the Suns as well as our free agency pickups. However, with its current structure, if this roster can stay healthy and continue to stay consistent, this playoff run can be a long one.
The Suns currently have not lost a game when Kevin Durant has suited up as a Sun. Devin Booker has been playing great basketball since the All-Star break and has a season average of 28 PPG. But what about the rest of the rest of the team? The following is a deeper dive on the other players on the team.
In the month of March, DA has been averaging 14.3 PTS and 9.4 RB. His defensive rating is 110.8 and is ranked 11th in the league amongst centers. In order for the Suns to have a long run in the playoffs, DA needs to be a force to be reckoned with under the basket both on offense and defense. We have seen what he can do when he is putting full effort on both sides especially against star players, so the question is not can he pick up his production but it is more along the lines of can he stay consistent.
Chris Paul
If there is someone on this roster that is needing to prove himself, it is Chris Paul. After turning 37 last year, many have questioned his abilities to still produce and be a key piece in the Suns offense. After an impressive performance last season in the playoffs against the Pelicans where he went 14-14, we have yet to witness such a dominant performance from him. This last month, he has averaged 9.7 assists with 12.6 points. In the two games the Suns have played in the month of April, he scored 22 points and 16 pts which hopefully shows his production will increase moving into the postseason.
Josh Okogie
I’ll be honest, I had no idea what an impactful player Okogie would be to this team and I love it. With a 112.4 defensive rating, Okogie has earned the starting position and I hope he continues to develop. As of right now, he is averaging 25.9 minutes a game, Okogie has scored +20 points a few times this season and there is hope he can do it more as the team progresses. Although his offensive production could be more consistent, he has provided a lot of help filling defensive holes, having clutch defensive plays.
The Bench
As of right now, the Suns bench has a Net Rating of 2.5, only coming in second to the Knicks and is scoring an average of 36.1 PPG. As anything in basketball, consistency is key. Cam Payne has been the go to PG during CP3 bench minutes and although he is good at setting a quick pace, his offensive contributions have been limited to an average of 10.4 PPG when sometimes scoring less, similar to Torrey Craig, who has been averaging 7.3 PPG.
Shamet has been out due to injury but it looks like coach Monty has high hopes on what he can provide to the team on both sides of the ball. Ish Wainwright has been inconsistent when it comes to making 3-pointers throughout the season. He is averaging 4.2 PPG and shooting at 38%. If he wants to become a main rotation player, he must take advantage of his playing time and show he is crucial to the team.
Free agent pick-ups, Terrence Ross and TJ Warren received a lot more playing time during KD’s offense. Ross shined with a 30 Pt performance and Warren averaged 9.2 pts during that time scoring 15 and 16 points in back to back games.
As far as our back up centers, Bismack and Landale are averaging 15 minutes of playing time each and have been averaging 6 PPG each. As we saw during the 2020-2021 playoff run, having a trustworthy big on the court when Ayton is on the bench can make or break a series. Both players have had high production games offensively throughout the season and have been able to provide crucial defensive plays this season. Biyombo was able to have a great defensive game against MVP candidate Embiid and we are going to need performances like that throughout the playoffs.
It will be interesting to see what Monty does in regards to rotations these last few games of the season. Since acquiring KD, he has only played 7 games with the team, so I do not expect there to be a lot of players sitting out, maybe some restricted minutes in attempts to pursue continuity. It will be nice to see Monty continue to test different lineups with which players will be coming off the bench together.
