Washington Wizards guard Raul Neto (19) goes to the basket past Phoenix Suns forward Mikal Bridges (25) and guard Devin Booker (1) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, January 11, 2021. Washington. The Wizarding Center Robin Lopez (15) looks at it. (AP Photo / Nick Wass)
The Phoenix Suns are finally going to be burned by their offensive disability, especially early in games.
It burned them in Friday’s loss to the bad Detroit Pistons, and it burned them again in the 128-107 defeat Monday to the very bad Washington Wizards.
The Suns (7-4) entered Monday night’s action minus 21 in the first quarter through ten games. Due to an excellent plus-64 point in the second quarter, they were able to compensate for that. However, they can not rely on it and on Monday they showed why.
Phoenix scored 15 points in the first quarter and was 2-20 down at 2:00. The violation could not get dribble penetration and also showed no urgency to create it. That plus bad jumping shots got them there. So when the defense was weak, it really played with fire against an explosive attacking team like Washington.
The Wizards (3-8) absolutely steamrollered them from that point on.
To emphasize how fast this happened, it was only 15 points ahead of Wizards with 8:42 left in the second quarter. It rose to 32 in less than four minutes, making it a 37-10 Wizards run in ten minutes of play.
The Suns scored just 42 points in the first half against a porous Wizards defense that conceded 65.7 points per first half before the game on Monday. They trailed 68-42 at halftime and could not compensate any ground, with the final score in the second half. The Suns shot 4-out-27 from three points.
“It’s just one of the stinkers you want to flush and have to climb to the floor quickly,” head coach Monty Williams said.
“Our defense level was just not where it should have been,” he added.
It was a very disconnected effort by the Suns as a whole, but the lack of offensive rhythm was there again and is now a bit staggering.
One of the trends in that is Chris Paul’s insistence on getting Deandre Ayton started early. Paul almost apparently refuses to seek his own shot until he gets the big man a good look or two.
The chemistry there is still a big time going on.
Paul, in general, has never been the type of player to start teasing, and this has been the case even in the twilight of his career. Even in the tremendous season he had for Oklahoma City last year, which earned him the second-team All-NBA honor, he attempted only 12.7 shots per game.
In the first quarter of the first ten games, Paul had 27 attempts on Ayton’s 25 goal attempts. The number for Paul was generally exceptionally constant and he remained under three strokes for all four periods.
Paul engaging his teammates as he does is part of what makes him a great player of all time. Many of these become familiar, and he will surely be a little more aggressive when the group starts clicking.
But while he waits, the team specifically needs him to be more of a threat point at the moment, especially at the start of games, and especially when most of his energy offensively has been aimed at something for Ayton to get going.
This is because Ayton’s determination around the edge with the ball fell back to his rookie season and was perhaps the worst it has ever been. He continues to catch the ball near the basket and not to finish, and on Monday he stumbled over himself while doing so and turned the ball around twice in the first half.
Wizards starting center Robin Lopez, for the injured Thomas Bryant, was good at giving Ayton enough space.
This screenshot, apart from a conversion through Ayton, illustrates the amount of real estate that Ayton can work with to get to the basket if he shows more confidence.
Ayton has always been a fine player and his athletic limitations have never made him an incredibly explosive player around the edge. His first and second jumps have never been amazing, and it’s also important for his vertical jump when he jumps from one foot.
He does not dip sometimes. It drives people crazy, and sometimes it’s good. It is what it is. He is who he is. As long as the layer does not harm the final product, sure. Do not think.
However, the numbers have a striking difference and potential correlation with what has just been discussed.
In particular, especially in 11 games, a street court is only surprising when you look at the floor (like Paul).
The initial enemies’ attacking problems are not entirely on Ayton, but the effort to get and combat him definitely plays a role in that.
Ayton started the game 1-of-6 and finished with eight points and six rebounds in 25 minutes. His counterpart Lopez had 11 points and 11 rebounds in 25 minutes. Seven of these 11 rebounds were on the offensive glass.
Paul recorded four points and eight assists in the first half and finished with 14 points and 11 shots.
Devin Booker lost 33 points.
Bradley Beal scored a game-high 34 points for Washington in the win.
It’s now 11 games in the season and the group of Paul, Booker, Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder and Ayton have yet to gel.
Asked about the bad start, Williams said he attributes some of it to familiarity, but said the group is not playing well. Booker said it was obvious and clear and that he had been carried by their bench in most of their victories.
Williams said he owes it to his team to conduct an in-depth investigation into possible changes to the starting lineup.
The question, of course, is what that change might be.
Paul, Booker and Bridges, of course, are not going anywhere.
Fans have already pushed Cam Johnson, and although Johnson is a better shooter than Crowder, Crowder has also proven that he is the better playmaker and he is the much better defender. The skill of Crowder and Paul to turn 99 times out of 100 on the team made a big difference in the team defense, which was the strongest of the team. It’s also the easiest step to take if Williams just wants to shake things up.
Ayton gives the Suns a defensive presence and on the glass that no one else in the team’s big rotation can come close. Even if Ayton plays like Monday, it’s still true in the interior.
He was also the biggest underachiever of the group. Dario Saric helps the offense flow, and with what Ayton has shown this year, Saric is the best attacking player at the moment. When the beginners returned in the fourth quarter, it was a few minutes for Ayton before Ayton played his last shift of the night.
There are obvious concerns about what a move to the bench could do for 22-year-old Ayton, but that does not work with the beginners, beyond a tremendous two-game stretch. The other nine have not been up to par yet, and this team is unable to wait for him, but the expectations are what they are.
The interesting ripple is that Williams Saric has played the last three games with Ayton after not doing so all season. Saric proved in the bubble that his best role is as a small-ball five, but he gives a bit of what Crowder does as a smart team defender who can play offensively.
However, it plays Saric out of position, where his speed is exposed on both sides at 4s. It also puts Damian Jones or Frank Kaminsky at the rugby center, which is problematic.
It is a difficult decision and not a given. Are the Suns ready for a stir? A 7-4 start does not scream desperately, but the difference between the bench and the top five is starting to seep in a bit.