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NBA Daily: 2022-2023 Season Preview #28 – Phoenix Suns By Reylan Loberternos PhilBoxing.com Tue, 11 Oct 2022  In this limited 30-part series, we shall be discussing each team’s latest developments, current roster, and future prospects in the upcoming 2022-2023 NBA season. For every team, we will examine bit-by-bit the important aspects that may shape its progress and provide a rough projection of how it will fare vis-à-vis its previous year’s performance and versus the rest of the league. PHOENIX SUNS 2021-2022 Season Win-Loss Record: 64-18 Depth Chart: PG – Chris Paul, Cameron Payne, Duane Washington Jr., Frank Jackson SG – Devin Booker, Landry Shamet, Damion Lee SF – Mikal Bridges, Torrey Craig, Josh Okogie PF – Cameron Johnson, Dario Saric, Ish Wainright, Jae Crowder* CE – Deandre Ayton, Bismack Biyombo, Jock Landale *Likely to be traded anytime soon. Injury Updates: No significant injuries. Head Coach: Monty Williams Headliners: The Phoenix Suns were the only team that won at least 60 games last regular season, entering the postseason with a 64-18 win-loss record. The biggest news going into this season for the franchise, however, does not have anything to do with what happened on the court, but off it. Robert Sarver, the Phoenix Suns owner, was meted with a one-year suspension and fined $10 million after allegations of racism and misogyny led to an investigation conducted by the league that found several violations. Ultimately, he recently announced that the franchise is now up for sale. Nevertheless, it is hard to imagine the Suns, a team so well-balanced and quite cohesive, fall off the title contenders list, especially because the team is relatively intact. Their chemistry is expected and should remain as one its greatest strengths. Chris Paul will remain to be the glue that keeps this team together for yet another title run. While it needed restricted free agency for the front office to decide on giving starting center DeAndre Ayton what he asked for, a cloud of uncertainty still remains on his future with the franchise. Ayton has continued to average a double-double in points and rebounds in every season he’s been in the league, with field goal shooting that has also improved over the years. Last season, he contributed 17.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists on a nightly basis. The same type of production is expected of him in this upcoming season, but if the Suns are to get over the hump, Ayton must assert himself more on offense and be a much better defender as well. Much of the team’s scoring will fall on Devin Booker’s shoulders, as it has always been since his sophomore season. However, his assist numbers have dropped quite a bit these past couple of seasons, largely because playmaking duties have been passed on to Chris Paul upon his arrival in Phoenix. While Devin Booker’s numbers have stayed relatively the same, Mikal Bridges has benefited the most, production-wise, with Chris Paul’s playmaking prowess. Over the past two seasons, his scoring has jumped from a little over 9 points per contest in his sophomore season, to 13.5 and 14.2 points in seasons 3 and 4, respectively. Cameron Johnson will most likely start for Phoenix at the four-spot this time around. His numbers have gradually improved since being drafted 11th overall in 2019 NBA Rookie Draft. Last season, he averaged career-highs in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, field goal shooting, and accuracy from beyond the arc with norms of 12.5 markers, 4.1 boards, 1.5 dimes, and 0.9 steals per contest, while connecting on 46% of his field goals, including an impressive 42.5% from deep. Veteran forward Jae Crowder, who started at power forward in all 67 regular season games he played for Phoenix last year has requested to not report to the Suns training camp, which the team agreed, as it continues to find a suitable trade partner. Crowder is headed into the final season of his contract and had seen a diminished role, with the resurgence of Cameron Johnson. The Phoenix Suns may not win as much games as they did last season, but they certainly remain as one of the best teams in the Western Conference, and even in the entire league, when healthy. Comments are highly appreciated. You may send them to reylanloberternos@yahoo.com.ph and you may follow me @reylan_l on twitter. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Reylan Loberternos.  |
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