{"id":287050,"date":"2025-11-15T22:45:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T22:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/287050\/"},"modified":"2025-11-15T22:45:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T22:45:19","slug":"phoenix-is-starting-to-make-high-level-basketball-look-effortless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/287050\/","title":{"rendered":"Phoenix is starting to make high-level basketball look effortless"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019d told me back in October that we\u2019d string together five straight wins, I wouldn\u2019t have believed you. I\u2019m not usually the pessimistic type, but honestly, this Suns team is surprising me in every possible way: offensively, defensively, in the energy, the cohesion. Even in the way they\u2019re making games look easy. It\u2019s genuinely enjoyable to watch.<\/p>\n

An Offensive Machine with Defensive Backbone<\/p>\n

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NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Collectively over this five-game stretch, the Suns are putting up the 3rd-best offense in the league with 127.1 points per 100 possessions. They also have the 4th-best defense during that span (107.5 points allowed per 100 possessions).<\/p>\n

In terms of efficiency and cleanliness, Phoenix clearly climbed into the league\u2019s top 8: 59% eFG%, 41.2% from three, nearly 50% on mid-range shots, and only 14.1% turnover rate.<\/p>\n

Nothing like the early-season version of this team, when we were sitting at 54.3% eFG%, 42.2% from mid-range, 37.6% from three and 16.5% turnovers; numbers that consistently placed us in the bottom half of the league.<\/p>\n

Individual Sparks Fueling a Collective Rise<\/p>\n

Of course, some individual standouts are driving this run.<\/p>\n

Grayson Allen has been incredibly consistent over his last four outings (excluding the game where he got hurt against Indiana). He\u2019s averaging 24.3 points, 3.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.5 steals with surgical precision: 54.2% from the field, 55% from three, and a +14.8 differential in 32 minutes. His volume stays controlled, but his impact is huge, both as a scorer and as a constant pressure point on defenses. And with that 42-point explosion against the Pelicans, all we can do now is hope for a smooth recovery.<\/p>\n

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NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Dillon Brooks, on his end, is on a strong stretch as well. Over his last four games, he\u2019s putting up 21.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.3 steals, with great offensive efficiency: 51.9% from the field, 40% from deep, and 92% from the line. In 28.1 minutes, he\u2019s mixing aggression, discipline, and efficiency \u2014 without forcing the issue the way he did early in the season \u2014 which only boosts his value even more.<\/p>\n

Defensively, we know everything comes from the collective effort. But some guys still deserve extra credit, and Jordan Goodwin is one of them. Once again last night, his energy, his commitment, and his defensive talent lifted the team. The fanbase feels it too. He\u2019s slowly carving out a real place in our hearts.<\/p>\n

Sure, we\u2019re benefiting from a favorable schedule. Kawhi sitting out two games, the Pelicans and Pacers going into tank mode, and the Mavs without Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis. But it\u2019s not like the Suns are just coasting. They\u2019re making games easy, with nearly a 20-point differential over the streak.<\/p>\n

This run doesn\u2019t guarantee anything long-term, but it does confirm something essential: the team has found a foundation. Between the offensive efficiency, the defensive focus, and the emergence of key contributors, the Suns are starting to look like a group that actually knows where it\u2019s going and how to get there. The schedule will get tougher, adjustments will come, and injuries will clear up.<\/p>\n

For now, the group is building, progressin,g and setting a level of discipline we hadn\u2019t seen in a while. This stretch may only be a fragment of the season, but it tells us something important: Phoenix is learning how to win with seriousness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you\u2019d told me back in October that we\u2019d string together five straight wins, I wouldn\u2019t have believed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":287051,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85,31961],"class_list":{"0":"post-287050","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-suns-analysis"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}