The good, the bad, and the ugly of the Suns’ preseason so far

Do you know what the most annoying thing about the preseason is? Trying to figure out what the hell actually matters. And am I allowed to have an opinion on any of it? If you do and it’s perceived as negative, you’re a hater. If it’s positive, you’re a fan boy. What happened to watch, process, and report?

I get it. The games don’t count in the standings. The rotations are incomplete. Starters aren’t playing 36 minutes, coaches are experimenting with combinations that may never see the light of day once the regular season begins, and winning is rarely the primary objective. It makes evaluating what we’re watching an exercise in selective interpretation. You see something you like, you convince yourself it’s a sign of things to come. You see something concerning, you remind yourself that it’s only October.

We’ve been down this road before. The Phoenix Suns have gone 4-2 in the preseason, giving us plenty of reasons to believe that something special was brewing, only for those performances to mean absolutely nothing once the games started counting. I’m looking at you, 2016-17. There’s a reason we approach these exhibitions with skepticism. History has taught us to.

And yet, here I am, two games into the preseason, trying to make sense of what I’ve watched. I’ve spent much of the offseason expressing optimism about this team. I believe in the identity they’re attempting to establish. I believe continuity, culture, defensive intensity, and a commitment to playing a more physical brand of basketball can provide a legitimate pathway to success. But optimism has a funny way of allowing you to overlook the things you already know are going to be problems.

We entered this season understanding that the Suns have deficiencies. There are areas of the game where their roster construction creates legitimate concerns, challenges that effort and enthusiasm alone won’t necessarily overcome. We can talk ourselves into believing that defensive intensity will create additional possessions, that continuity will improve execution, and that a renewed culture will help swing close games in their favor. And perhaps all of that will prove true.

Still, through two preseason games, we’ve begun seeing glimpses of the very issues we spent the offseason trying to rationalize away. That’s what makes evaluating this team so fascinating, and occasionally frustrating. There are encouraging developments worth acknowledging, concerning trends that deserve attention, and a few things that could become downright ugly if they carry into the regular season.

So, with the appropriate preseason disclaimer firmly attached, let’s take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of what we’ve seen from the Phoenix Suns thus far.

The Good: The depth is starting to show

I’ve mentioned previously how inspiring the second unit has looked. They elevate the energy and tenacity whenever they enter the game, and I think that collective intensity has the potential to create havoc throughout the season. If they can sustain it, they’ll provide another layer of success for this team.

Unfortunately, we haven’t seen much of Miles Bridges, but the early indications surrounding his addition have been positive as well. He tweaked his ankle eight minutes into Wednesday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls, limiting our opportunity to see how he fits within the starting lineup. 

Through 21.9 minutes of preseason action, Bridges is 4-of-9 from the field and 1-of-3 from beyond the arc, totaling eight points, six rebounds, five assists, one steal, and only one turnover. He’s also grabbed two offensive rebounds. That additional dimension he can bring offensively is something I’ve been theorizing about throughout the offseason. And while the sample size is incredibly small, the early returns appear to be trending in the right direction.

Then there’s Collin Gillespie, who looks like he’s preparing to take another leap as a player, something I’m ecstatic about. I believe Gillespie has the potential to become more than our version of T.J. McConnell coming off the bench. If things don’t work out with Jalen Green in his current role and the Suns eventually decide to move in another direction, they have options. Because Gillespie is beginning to look like somebody who could legitimately start at point guard in this league.

Through 30.7 minutes of preseason action, he’s shooting 7-of-11 from the field and 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, adding three assists and four rebounds. The five turnovers have been ugly (we’ll get into that shortly), although that puts him in the company of seemingly everybody else on this roster through the first two games.

Still, there’s plenty to be encouraged about with Gillespie. His confidence, efficiency, and growing command of the offense are all reasons to believe another step forward could be coming.

The Bad: The shooting concerns are holding up

This is probably one of our biggest concerns, especially considering the Suns lost both Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale this past offseason. That’s 371 of their 1,210 three-point makes from last season walking out the door, with those two combining to shoot 45.1% from deep.

Strategically, the theory behind replacing that production is that newly acquired Luke Kennard will shoulder a greater shooting responsibility, while Collin Gillespie should be able to contribute as well. But the starting five is going to have its challenges from beyond the arc.

Through two preseason games, the combination of Devin Booker, Jalen Green, Miles Bridges, and Dillon Brooks is shooting 9-of-34 from deep, good for 26.5%. Booker’s 0-of-8 performance against the Chicago Bulls certainly skews that number, but it remains an area of concern. Why? Because it doesn’t matter whether you’re playing in the preseason, regular season, Summer League, or your local rec league at the YMCA. You don’t suddenly become a better shooter because the calendar transitions from the preseason to the regular season. Yes, improvements can be made through time, effort, and repetition. But collectively, this is going to be a vital area of opportunity for Phoenix this season, and thus far, the concerns appear valid.

The same would be true if the numbers were reversed. If those four players were collectively shooting 40% from deep through two preseason games, we’d be pointing toward that production as an early indication of improvement and questioning whether our concerns entering the season were warranted.

The Suns will certainly do their part schematically to create open looks. And I believe the addition of Miles Bridges, with his ability to attack the rim and put pressure on defenses, will make it more difficult for opponents to account for Phoenix’s perimeter shooters as they collapse into the paint.

The opportunities will be there. But ultimately, you have to knock down the shots.

The Ugly: You can’t win by giving the ball away

This one has to go to ball security. Through the first two games of the preseason, the Suns are averaging 29 turnovers per game, dead last among the 24 NBA teams that have played a preseason game thus far. We’ve witnessed 32 turnovers against the Pistons and 26 against the Bulls. 

On the surface, that’s concerning, especially when you consider the potential challenges this team could face with overall facilitation and ball distribution. Ball security absolutely needs to become a point of emphasis as the regular season approaches.

Take the preseason opener against the Detroit Pistons, for example. The starting five combined for only five turnovers, although they played between 15 and 16 minutes apiece. Against the Chicago Bulls, however, things got considerably uglier. Dillon Brooks and Devin Booker played 23 minutes, Jalen Green played 22, Oso Ighodaro played 17, and Miles Bridges played eight. That starting group combined for 13 turnovers. No matter how you slice it, that’s ugly basketball.

Sure, the preseason is designed for exactly this. It’s an opportunity for the coaching staff to experiment with different schemes, put players in unfamiliar situations, and see how what they’ve been working on in practice translates to live game action. These five games are about getting your legs underneath you, building conditioning, and testing players in roles they might not be entirely comfortable with.

But should this become a concerning trend as we approach the regular season? Think back to last year, when the Suns averaged 16 turnovers per game during the preseason. How did that translate once the games started counting? Phoenix averaged 14.5 turnovers during the regular season.

There’s also the reality that three preseason games remain, providing plenty of opportunity for that overall number to come down if ball security becomes a priority. And it must become a priority. The way the Suns intend to beat opponents this season is by outworking and outhustling them, creating extra possessions through defensive pressure, offensive rebounding, and relentless effort. That’s the identity they’re trying to establish.

But those extra possessions lose their value when you’re giving the basketball right back. For a team that plans to manufacture advantages through effort, giving away possessions could ultimately mean giving away games.

That’s the challenge facing Phoenix as the preseason continues. The good gives us reasons to believe. The bad reminds us that roster construction comes with consequences. And the ugly exposes mistakes that could undermine everything this team is trying to accomplish. There’s still time to address these concerns, and nobody should be drawing definitive conclusions after two exhibition games. But the Suns have shown us enough to recognize where the work needs to happen.

Optimism is warranted. So is a healthy dose of reality.