After the team took the future NBA champion Denver Nuggets to 6 games in the Western Conference Semifinals, the team had a bright future with Booker, Durant, and an aging but effective Chris Paul. The team sought after All-Star Bradley Beal to form the big three but lost an immense amount of picks as well as Paul and other bench players. While Paul isn’t the same scorer as he once was, he was the point guard the team needed.
After the trade for Bradley Beal over the offseason, there were questions about the team’s depth, as it was sacrificed to get the big three. The idea was that any supporting cast could succeed with Durant, Booker, and Beal, but it didn’t translate to the court. While the team was solid with a top-fifteen offense and defense, their fourth-quarter numbers are catastrophic. Throughout the first, second, and third quarters, their net rank is 10th, 2nd, and 2nd respectively. In the fourth quarter, this number fell to 30th, last in the league. FG percentage falls from 3rd (49.9%) to 28th (44.9%) and the three-point percentage falls from 7th (38.7%) down to 29th (32.3%). Rebounds also drastically fall.
The core of the problems in Phoenix is team construction. While Chris Paul was old and slowing down, he was still the point guard and facilitator the team needed. After his departure, Booker was forced into the role. While he is not a bad passer or playmaker, he is best utilized as a shooting guard. With two star shooting guards (Booker and Beal), many possessions ended in iso plays from one of the three stars. Durant had an incredible season, but it ended in a good but disappointing 6th seed. Grayson Allen and Jusuf Nurkic were solid role players, but they didn’t fit in with the team very well.
The worst is yet to come for Phoenix. The team needs better construction but has limited draft capital and cap space entering next year. On top of that, they can’t trade Beal for much because he has one of the worst contracts in the NBA (5 years, $127,171,313) and most teams aren’t going to give up very much for him. The most likely outcome is that the same core runs it back next year, and it doesn’t go well. That being said, it is going to be an interesting offseason for the team.
