The Phoenix Suns have a number of players who opponents are going to target defensively over the course of a seven game series.
The Phoenix Suns have had an up and down regular season to this point. So much so that the idea of having to feature in the play-in tournament for the first time in franchise history is still not out of the question, even if the team have won three games to move away from that mini tournament.
With the Suns finally healthy – and Bradley Beal putting in the kind of performances that made the organization go out and get him last summer – the outlook at this moment in time is a bright one. With one of the toughest remaining schedules left to play though, that could all change very quickly.
Once the postseason does finally begin though, the Suns are going to find that some of their key players are going to be targeted defensively by opponents.
This is not a situation that is unique to the Suns, but it is one head coach Frank Vogel has to figure out, and quickly, to ensure they aren’t met with an early playoff exit. Kevin Durant and Devin Booker might be able to outscore everybody in a seven games series – but if their teammates are continually getting picked off on the other end – then their talents will only take this group so far.
Which might explain why coach Vogel is still going 14 deep with his rotation some nights, even though he really should have a better idea of who his eight or nine guys are with so few regular season games remaining. These three key players are going to get picked on though, and the Suns have to be ready.
3. Jusuf Nurkic
The most obvious and concerning player to appear on this list is clearly center Jusuf Nurkic, because of how critical he has become for this team. He has started every single one of the 67 games he has played so far this season, and has averaged a shade of 11 points and 11 boards per game as well.
The beauty of Nurkic offensively is how he knows his role around three stars, can pass and handle the ball well for a big man, but also battles in the paint night after night against the true brutes in this league. Not only that – but when Booker was last out with an ankle sprain – Nurkic took on more offensive responsibility and brought the ball up the court some and created that little bit more too.
Everybody likes having Nurkic around, and rightly so. He has also remained much healthier than anybody could have predicted either. But he’s simply no match for Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets for example – not that anybody is – while a more traditional center like Rudy Gobert can have success against him too. If the opposing big drags Nurkic out of the paint, that is a massive problem.
So if the big Bosnian is going to get fried by opponents in the playoffs, and Drew Eubanks is the only real backup available to the Suns, then that is a problem. Coach Vogel likely will play Durant some at the five to combat this, while the trio of Nurkic, Durant and Bol Bol have had some success together. When you look through the West though, plenty of opponent’s eyes will light up when seeing Nurkic.
2. Bradley Beal
It might be a surprise to find Beal here, because you could make the argument he is actually an underrated defender. He is still lightning quick and gets back in transition really well, while also managing to stay in front of his man most of the time on any given night. Even better, he won’t always have to guard the best perimeter player on an opposing team.
Both Booker and Durant will take turns at that – although Durant may have to be moved into the middle because of the aforementioned Nurkic issue – meaning Beal can be hidden on the best shooter from deep that an opponent has for example. Underneath all of that positivity though, which should rightly be given to Beal, there exists a more ugly reality. Beal continues to get hurt this season, and giving his all on the defensive end isn’t going to help him stay on the court when the Suns need him. So the solution is either to try less hard defensively, or else risk being unable to play in a series altogether because of injury. Neither reality is what the Suns signed up for when they traded for the 30-year-old.
An opponent like the L.A. Clippers could force the Suns to put Beal on James Harden, while the Nuggets could throw Michael Porter Jr. his way a lot in a series as well. If that sounds overly negative, do remember that these are the teams the Suns are going to have to go through if they plan on winning a championship. Which is still the primary objective here.
1. Bol Bol
Make no mistake, this season has been a fantastic one for Bol Bol. In his fifth year in the league, he has finally found a situation in The Valley where he can excel. In the past he didn’t fit with the Denver Nuggets and what they were building, while with the Orlando Magic too much was asked of what was a rapidly rebuilding team.
With the Suns though he can come in for around 15 minutes per night, stretch the floor with his shooting (39.5 percent from 3-point range) and be annoying around the perimeter with his length. In those aforementioned jumbo lineups, he can stick to a team’s third or fourth best scoring option, while Nurkic and Durant handle the heavy duty inside the paint.
Bol is going to get playoff minutes, and he deserves it. Coach Vogel has managed to find a way to make his enigmatic talents work with these Suns, and there will be moments where Bol goes on a run of scoring a handful of points off the bench in only a few minutes. The darker side of doing this though, is just how often opponents will pick on him.
As a result of hanging outside the paint to survive defensively, opposing teams are going to hunt switches to create mismatches that expose Bol. This will happen, and it is not going to be pretty. It is easy to envision Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves for example continuing to create a scenario where he matches up with Bol, before obliterating him. A tough puzzle for the Suns to solve.
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