The Phoenix Suns have options. That is a good thing. Their team, with the addition of Royce O’Neale, has permitted head coach Frank Vogel an opportunity to mix and match his lineups to either complement each other or adjust to what the opposition is doing. There are thought processes that align with both. Are you imposing your will or adjusting to what is being imposed
Regardless, the fact remains that James Jones has given Vogel the tools, and with 24 games left in the season, it is on the head coach to pull the right levers, find the right combinations, and use them to win basketball games effectively.
One of those levers must face? Who to start. When healthy, we all know who is in the starting lineup. Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Jusuf Nurkic will always get the starting nod (although I’ve made the case that post-injury Beal should be coming off the bench to get his sea legs under him). It is the fifth spot that, with the addition of Royce O’Neale and Eric Gordon’s ability only to be productive when starting, complicates things.
Grayson Allen has held down the fifth spot for the majority of the season. He has played in 52 games for Phoenix this year and started every one of them. In doing so he has set a career-high in minutes played (33.1), points (13.0), assists (3.2), rebounds (4.0), blocks (0.7), field goal percentage (50.8%), and three-point percentage (48.6%). That final number leads the NBA.
His defensive rating, however, is a career-low 115.7, the second worst on the team. He ends up guarding the primary ball handler on 92% of possession, per B-Ball Index, which doesn’t help his defensive effectiveness.
Did you know that, per @The_BBall_Index, Grayson Allen defends the primary ballhandler 92% of the time?
Now you do. pic.twitter.com/qpp6wnBdCL
— John Voita (@DarthVoita) February 29, 2024
In his short stint with the Phoenix Suns — 6 games — Royce O’Neale has a defensive rating of 100.9. The career 38.1% three-point shooter has made 40% of his attempts with the Suns. He has given the Suns a boost on both ends of the floor, posting a nice +12.3 net rating.
