Despite having three All-Stars, the Suns are off to a fast start because of one key player in their backcourt.
When Mat Ishbia went all-in with the Phoenix Suns by acquiring Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, he envisioned these two stars being able to win a championship with Devin Booker right away. With a 49-33 record, it appeared as if the Suns were set up for a legitimate chance to make a title run in the Western Conference, but a four-game sweep in the first round of the playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves promptly ended this team’s chance of claiming glory.
Multiple injuries obviously played a role in Phoenix’s demise and inability to win come time for the postseason, yet Ishbia decided it was time for a change of leadership. As a result, former Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer replaced Frank Vogel, and the Suns committed to their core group of superstars by keeping Royce O’Neale and bringing in Mason Plumlee as key secondary talents. However, Budenholzer and Plumlee weren’t the only key additions the Suns made, as Tyus Jones signed a minimum deal to play alongside Booker, Durant, and Beal.
Jones, who was a key sixth man for the Memphis Grizzlies before breaking onto the scene as a reliable and dependable starting option at point guard for the Washington Wizards, simply did not have a market this offseason. Due to the Suns’ financial restrictions, this team didn’t have really any path to improving their roster further during the offseason than re-signing their current players and only offering minimum contracts to actual free agents.
With no market forming for his services, Jones was going to have to accept a minimum-like deal. Ultimately, this has worked to his advantage, as his pairing with the Suns couldn’t have been better.
In Phoenix, Jones has assumed the mantle of being the team’s lead point guard, a role that really nobody held a season ago. As a result of Booker, Beal, and Durant constantly having to be the ones to bring the ball up the floor and initiate the offense, Phoenix’s turnover rate was one of the worst in the league. Not to mention, this team’s offense stalled out at times since their three stars couldn’t move off the ball and get to their spots.
Now that Jones is in the picture, much has changed for the Suns’ approach on offense, and his presence alone has made this team virtually impossible to stop when at full strength.
Tyus Jones provides Suns with true point guard play
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
The definition of what it means to be a point guard in the NBA has changed through the years. In the past, Chris Paul was the epitome of what it meant to be a point guard — a smaller player that always made smart decisions and set others up for offensive success before himself. Nowadays, teams tend to utilize many different physiques and molds as their lead facilitator, especially when it comes to some organizations having their centers assume the duties of lead playmaker.
Jones is certainly not one of the new-school guards as far as being a lengthy perimeter player who can fill multiple roles. Instead, the 28-year-old simply plays to his strengths at 6’1″, and he understands his role next to Durant, Booker, and Beal. After all, there is no need for Jones to try and do anything extra when he has three of the most talented scorers of this generation around him.
All the Suns wanted when they signed Jones to a minimum deal was steady, reliable play at the point guard position. Through 11 games, Jones has exceeded these expectations and helped evolve Phoenix’s offense.
Compared to last season when the Suns ranked 25th in turnovers, they now rank 10th in turnovers. Over the years, Jones has been the best when it comes to dishing out assists and taking care of the basketball. His 7.35 assists per turnover ratio last season in Washington was the highest assist-to-turnover ratio in NBA history. There is nobody better in the league when it comes to initiating the offense while also protecting possessions and the basketball, which is why Jones has been so important to the early-season success Phoenix has found.
Even Beal admits that the Suns struggled to find production in their backcourt last season because they simply did not have a point guard.
“We didn’t love it as a team (last season),” Beal recently told Fred Katz of The Athletic. “The dynamic we had — we didn’t have a (point guard), which everybody crucified us on. It was tough. It was very tough. Everybody was kinda out of position last year, not necessarily what made them who they are.”
The bottom line is that Jones makes the game so much easier for the Suns’ stars, especially in regards to how Booker and Beal approach things offensively.
Pressure has been taken off Devin Booker, Bradley Beal
Allan Henry-Imagn Images
When you look at the numbers, last season was one of Booker’s best with the Suns. He nearly eclipsed his career-high in scoring, and the 28-year-old did reach a new career-high when it came to dishing out assists. The main problem with Booker was the fact that so much stress was put on him to lead the offense as the primary ball handler and facilitator that he was either fatigued or in foul trouble at the end of games. Even so, Booker still put together an All-NBA-worthy season.
As for Beal, the same cannot be said. The three-time All-Star guard ended up only playing in 53 games due to injuries, and he simply put too much pressure on himself to make both Booker and Durant better players. All three of the Suns’ stars are one-of-a-kind types of talents that simply do not need to change their approach in order to achieve greatness. That was the problem, though, as each of these stars put extra pressure on themselves to create opportunities for one another.
With Jones in the fold, the Suns can now rely on him to make the right decisions as far as who gets the ball every possession. Sure, Budenholzer calls out some sets and plays from the sidelines every now and then, but with the firepower Phoenix possesses, it is better to let Jones be the one who sets up the stars for success.
For Booker, he can simply be the scorer off the ball that he has always been throughout his career instead of always carrying the burden of being the team’s lead guard. In Durant’s case, he has a lot more space to create one-on-one post-up opportunities since Jones is bringing the ball up the floor and teams have to pay attention to Booker’s movement off the ball.
If you don’t want to take my word for it, take Durant’s, as he recently described how playing is a lot easier with Jones by his side after the Suns’ 125-119 victory over the LA Clippers on October 31.
“The more playmaking and decision-makers you can have on a team, at that level, it’s always good. Ball still running through me, Book, Brad. But you add Tyus in there too, he’s mixing in a little bit. He’s not just simply controlling the whole game and handing us shots whenever he wants to. I think we’re all just playing in the flow of each other,” Durant said recently, via Law Murray of The Athletic. “I might bring it up, Ty might bring it up, Book might bring it up. Brad. So the more versatile attackers you have with four or five guys handing the ball, it just throws everybody off.
“The key is that we all can catch-and-shoot, catch-and-drive, play off the ball too.”
Versatility is what Jones brings to the table for the Suns. This early season success that he and the team have seen is no coincidence. Then again, this success ultimately leads to questions about whether everything can be sustained regarding the Suns contending for a championship.
Suns’ championship outlook with Tyus Jones
Can the Suns win the Western Conference and capture their first championship? This is what Ishbia expects to happen, and it appears as if this team truly has the capability to sustain their early-season success.
Of course, injuries will play a factor in how the season goes in Phoenix. Durant is already dealing with an injury, as he is currently sidelined with a calf issue. There is a lot of time to be passed between now and the playoffs.
Still, the difference from last season to this year in Phoenix is that Jones is the glue that holds these three superstars together on the court. Every great team always has one player that they look to as their “connector.” This is the role Jones has assumed, and he is still figuring out ways to make everyone around him better.
“I’m continuing to figure out, I don’t want to say my role, but just where my spots are. Just continuing to find my rhythm, continue to figure out the system,” Jones recently said at practice. “There’s gonna be nights where it’s more shots and there will be nights where it’s less shots depending on the different schemes. Depending on who got it going, things like that. Just how the game goes. But the nights that my shots are there, just being ready to take with 100 percent confidence and just trusting in my work.”
When you take care of the basketball and value possessions, good things tend to happen on offense. As the Suns’ lead point guard, Jones is averaging 6.4 assists per game this season and is only turning the ball over about 1.3 times per game. Overall, he has a 5.0 assist-to-turnover ratio right now, which again sits at the top of the league given his usage and production.
As a team, the Suns rank ninth in offensive rating and 11th in scoring. It is not a coincidence that Booker, Beal, and Durant are all finding more offensive success and look more comfortable in Phoenix this year. Some of that has to do with Budenholzer’s teachings and philosophy, but a lot of it comes from Jones’ ability to simply lead an offense the right way.
He is unselfish and willing to do what it takes to win games, which is why the Suns are lucky to have Jones in the point guard position.
“We are in this together and trying to improve. It just shows the determination that we got.”