Due to a devastating problem, the Phoenix Suns received heartbreaking news; eventually, something happened.
The Phoenix Suns received sad news due to an issue; eventually, something happened.
The Phoenix Suns have occasionally displayed their Big Three across 47 games. However, they have also shown puzzling bursts of zombie-like play, in which the defense appears more appropriate for an NBA All-Star weekend while the offense falters.
A large number of execution and attention to detail lapses have occurred during the game’s fourth quarter.
Occasionally, the Suns have lost close games as quickly as you could move aside to pop some popcorn. It occurred in a less significant way on Monday during a resounding victory over the Miami Heat and on Sunday during a defeat to the Orlando Magic.
To what extent has it been bad? The season is more than halfway over, and even if the Big Three haven’t played together for the majority of it, it’s time to revisit the more intriguing problem that has dogged the Suns both when their roster was healthy and when their depth was lacking.
The Suns’ inability to stop the Pacers in a defeat negates Devin Booker’s 62 points.
First, let’s discuss the season as a whole and each quarter that was played. With a 10th-place offensive and 16th-place defensive ranking as of Tuesday, the Suns have barely climbed to 11th in the NET rating. The difference between the number of points allowed and scored per 100 possessions is known as the net offensive rating.
The Suns rank 12th in the first quarters, fourth in the second, and third in the third quarters of NET ratings. Given the recent slow starts and rallies, it’s likely that you might have predicted the trend.
The Suns are surprised to be dead last in NET ratings during the fourth quarter. Unexpectedly, though, they perform far worse on offense than defense, even though they aren’t all that good on the latter point either.
The Heat, who are the second-worst team in the fourth quarter, have a NET rating of -16.6, which is -6.1 worse. The fourth quarter’s 102.9 offensive rating is painfully low, despite the team’s weak defensive rating of 119.5, which would tie for third-worst in the league overall this year.
The Memphis Grizzlies, with a 107.8 offensive rating, have the lowest rating among all teams this season.
Since the 2020–21 Oklahoma City Thunder, no club has had an offensive rating in the fourth quarter of a season lower than Phoenix’s 2023–24 figure. That group had a 22–50 record.
What is ailing the fourth-quarter offense?
Turnovers are a major concern. Phoenix allows 5.4 points off turnovers, which is 0.8 points more than any other team in the league. During the fourth quarter, Phoenix had the highest turnover rate (16.5%). However, it doesn’t end there.
In terms of effective field goal percentage (49.7%), which accounts for the fact that threes are worth more than twos, the Suns are also tied for bottom place with the Portland Trail Blazers. In terms of true shooting percentage, which takes into account all field goals and free throws, they don’t go to the foul line frequently enough to move up more than a slot in the rankings.
The Suns are turning the ball over 3.9 times while shooting 43.5% overall and 31.2% from three in the fourth quarter.
Phoenix’s pace slows down to 94.04 in the last quarter, finishing bottom in the league and far behind its unsettling 24th-ranked pace of 98.47 overall.
The Suns are third in terms of overall rebounding percentage and second-worst in defensive rebounding percentage; hence, even when they do make a stop, it’s not always a guarantee that the offense and pace will go in the opposite direction.
Has anyone in particular had trouble in the fourth quarter?
In this section, let’s largely concentrate on the important players.
There are some intriguing nuggets to take into account, even though examining full-season NET data may be cherry-picking and failing to take into account lineups and combinations that can reflect adversely on one player at no fault of their own.
With a rating of -19.6, Durant has the lowest of the Big Three. Nevertheless, he is shooting at a respectable percentage: 46.2% from three and 49.7% overall.
With more fourth quarters to begin the season, when he was the only one of the Big Three who was fit and active, Durant is also unfairly recognized.
Beal has a NET rating of -17.1. In the fourth quarter, he’s only shooting 35.9% overall and giving the ball away 0.9 times every 8.8 minutes of play. You’d imagine that as we progress, spending more time on the activity would bring the number closer to zero.
Although Phoenix has been using small-ball groups in the fourth quarter to mix things up against teams that want to open the floor offensively and, more crucially, attack the big man on defense, the guy was holding up fairly well defensively, according to the raw data.
With the exception of Bol Bol’s nine fourth quarters (-2.6), both Eric Gordon (-8.5) and Grayson Allen (-12.9) have less-than-ideal NET stats, but they are still better than every other role player. Durant’s ugly fourth-quarter NET rankings can be partially attributed to all those low ranks.
And that renders the majority of the roster unreliable, which is a concern we could have anticipated given the squad’s top-heavy composition.
There are benefits.
The fourth quarter has seen the Suns thoroughly outclassed.
However, the numbers aren’t as dismal when they’re in clutch mode, like in the last five minutes of a five-point game.
Phoenix’s NET rating in the clutch is a respectable -7.7. It ranks 21st overall, but oddly, its defensive performance is 14th-best.
The Suns are third in assist rate as well, suggesting that there are offensive execution areas that may be strengthened. Still, there is room for improvement in the bottom-10 turnover rate at this crucial time.
Last but not least, the Durant-Beal-Booker trio has a fourth-quarter -0.1 NET rating. There is nothing to be very concerned about.
Strangely, the offense is what needs to get better. There is hope that the defense can hold up and the attack can find its shape, provided that the necessary individuals and talent are available.
