The season begins for the Phoenix Suns this upcoming Wednesday as they make the journey to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Portland Trail Blazers. It’s a season that carries lots of promise and uncertainty as the staff appears to be like to construct upon the basis established last yr, when it won 45 video games and shattered its preseason over/under of 30.5 wins.
But that staff in the end completed as the eighth seed, lost its inaugural Play-In recreation, and was finally swept out of the playoffs. So what does this season have in store?
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Over the next 4 days, the Bright Side of the Sun writing workers will share our ideas on this staff as we work toward making our last predictions for the upcoming season. And the first query on the board is a comparatively simple one.
What is your greatest motive for optimism heading into the season, and what is your greatest concern about this staff?
There’s lots to be optimistic about when you look at this model of the Phoenix Suns. They’ve firmly established an identification and possess continuity, two issues that groups around the league are continuously making an attempt to establish and develop. That alone places Phoenix in a place to be aggressive and probably become a troublesome opponent early in the season.
But my greatest motive for optimism is the intriguing stability this roster possesses between younger gamers who will have an alternative to develop before our very eyes and veterans who can keep the staff aggressive night time in and night time out. I’m optimistic that this mix will present high quality basketball that’s pleasant to watch and translate into wins.
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As for my greatest concern, I in the end land on the three-point capturing conundrum. This is a staff that tried the fifth most three-pointers in the NBA last season while ending twelfth in three-point capturing share. If that quantity stays comparatively constant while the share declines, which I believe is a reputable chance given the roster construction, it’s going to create some important challenges offensively.
The Suns might discover themselves needing to win more video games on the defensive aspect of the ball than the offensive aspect merely because constant perimeter capturing could be troublesome to come by. Sure, there are gamers coming off the bench who can knock down photographs from deep, but how much quantity are they realistically going to obtain?
If the protection is not persistently holding opposing groups to manageable level totals, how troublesome is it going to be for Phoenix to overcome deficits when the photographs aren’t falling? Without dependable three-point capturing, the margin for error becomes more and more slender, particularly when you’re making an attempt to work your approach back into video games. And that considerations me.
So what does the relaxation of the Bright Side writing workers have to say? Here are their greatest causes for optimism and concern heading into the 2026–27 Phoenix Suns season.
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Brandon Duenas: The bench is the well-liked reply for optimism, and it’s the appropriate reply. We’re speaking about how deep this staff is despite shedding its beginning middle until at least February. Just let that sink in. The trio of Gillespie, Kennard, and Goodwin off the bench is such a luxurious.
The greatest concern has to be the health points, which contradict our energy, but also make a case for it (depth) being so obligatory at the same time. Injuries occur. They’ll be higher ready for them this season. We’re just hoping they do not snowball like they did last season.
Holden Sherman: For the first time since perhaps the 2021-22 season, not only do the Suns seem to have continuity and good vibes around them, but also empirical evidence that they should really feel optimistic. The staff shocked many last yr and has motive to believe they can construct on last season by conserving the roster principally the same and upgrading at beginning energy ahead with Miles Bridges.
Bruce Veliz: The greatest motive for optimism for me is that this bench unit appears to be like deep and can work nicely collectively. We already saw last yr that Collin Gillespie can lead the unit, and gamers like Jordan Goodwin and Oso Ighodaro can work nicely off him. Not to point out the youth with Ryan Dunn, Rasheer Fleming, and Koa Peat at the ahead place, it has the potential to be one of the league’s best.
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My greatest concern for this staff is that there is still no true level guard next to Booker to help alleviate the playmaking duties. With Jalen Green working with Steve Nash this offseason, there is some mild at the finish of that tunnel. It’s just all about ready to see it work in actual time.
Tom Mildenberger: The greatest motive for optimism is the bench. They are going to push our regular-season win whole, and the Suns are going to need them to if they need to keep out of the Play-In match. The beginning lineup is going to have video games where they hit threes, and we’re all going to think, “Wow, we are really good.” But they’ll have just as many video games where they do not. You can also pencil in some inconsistency, particularly early in the season, from the second-timeline guys who are going to be counted on this season, primarily Khaman, Dunn, and Rasheer. Gillespie, Kennard, Goodwin, and Oso aren’t just going to have to be good; they’ll need to be persistently good. I think they will meet that problem in the common season.
My greatest concern will proceed to be accidents. We’re already down our beginning middle, and Miles Bridges has already limped off the court. While he’ll be out there when the video games rely, his preseason reps have been restricted. Obviously, shedding Devin Booker for an prolonged period would have us hitting the under, but I’m also involved about nagging accidents. The core 4 need to gel. What they’re missing in star energy, they’ll need to make up for in chemistry. The bench can elevate them up through the common season, but that does not carry over to the playoffs, where it’s best-on-best. If guys are in and out of the lineup with tender tissue points all season, they’ll never develop the chemistry they need.
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Kevin Humphreys: My greatest motive for optimism heading into the season is how deep this staff is. I perceive the capturing limitations that this roster has on paper, but I expect Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks to both take jumps in three-point capturing effectivity this season because they will be taking ‘higher’ photographs, plus Gillespie and Kennard are snipers. I trust Devin Booker as the Suns’ principal playmaker and scorer to win video games, and I trust Jordan Ott to configure the rotations to give Booker, Green, and Brooks alternatives to get up photographs.
Defensively, this staff should be one of the best 5 defenses in the NBA and have the depth to give opposing groups 48 minutes of hellish protection for 82 video games. They will power a ton of turnovers, run off misses or makes, and be one of the most enjoyable groups to watch in the NBA this season.
CJ Savage: Optimistic about: Has to be seeing what Man Man Maluach can do as a beginning (hopefully) middle. Close second would be the promise, as yet largely unfulfilled, of Jalen Green.
Concerned about the bodily and mental decline of Devin Armani Booker. I know he’s said he’s ‘in love’ with basketball again, but what prompted him to drop out to start with? When you are courting the Kardashians and jet-setting, you no longer, IMHO, have basketball/profitable a championship/HOF as your main concern. I think the trajectory now, unless issues change for him this season, is that of a former teammate of his, Chris Paul: great participant, not fairly enough to get a staff to the promised land.
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Mark Bowser: Optimistic about: I do think we’ll see Jordan Ott take a yr 2 soar in the head coach function. I typically lean on analytics and look at former video coordinators who turned head coaches, and at their development from yr 1 to yr 2. It’s truthfully a blended bag. But I believe he has the work ethic and depth to be nearer to an Eric Spoelstra (+4 wins) than a James Borrego (-16). I expect higher rotations and more emotion at the proper moments.
Concerned: Inability to maintain accidents or foul issues at the 5 place. I thought this was a energy pre-Mark Williams’ damage. Maluach and Ighodaro are a respectable and complementary pair. If either is unavailable, all the choices behind them are marked with query marks. I do not think Huntley or Reath present enough significant rotation minutes, and the small-ball choices each have limitations.
Where do you land? What are you optimistic about? What considerations you?
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