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NewsTranscript
00:00As the Phoenix Suns prepare for Wednesday's Game 2 in Oklahoma City, the conversation naturally
00:06drifts toward adjustments. In the NBA playoffs, there is a certain fascination with that word,
00:11tactical shifts, lineup changes, schematic wrinkles, but in the wake of a 35-point defeat
00:16in Game 1, a contest that felt effectively settled within the first 18 minutes of action,
00:22the most valuable reminder might be a simpler one. Natural improved execution often trumps
00:28even the shrewdest of strategic maneuvers. The 25-point lead the Thunder built so early was not
00:33merely a product of Oklahoma City's brilliance, though that brilliance certainly played a part,
00:38it was magnified by three specific areas where Phoenix fell short. Rebounding, turnovers, and
00:44missed shots. The Thunder are the class of the league and the defending champions for a reason,
00:50and they deserve ample credit for influencing all three of those facets. However, the Suns are also
00:56capable of simply performing better. Take the early rebounding disparity, seven offensive rebounds
01:02for Oklahoma City in the first quarter prompted immediate and loud calls for Phoenix to supersize
01:07the lineup with rookies. Yet a closer look reveals that most of those extra possessions were not
01:12primarily due to a lack of height. They stemmed either from unfavorable bounces or a breakdown in
01:18fundamental boxing out by a Suns player. Oklahoma City finished the regular season ranked 28th in
01:23offensive rebounding rate. They crashed the glass with heightened regularity in game one specifically
01:28to exploit a known Suns vulnerability, whether Phoenix was caught off guard or simply failed to
01:33execute. That is, a correctable issue. The turnover problem is a bit more nuanced, as it is often a
01:40by-product of what the Thunder do best. Still, of the five committed in the first quarter, the first
01:45two can be attributed to a lack of familiarity with the matchup and a failure to respect the recovery
01:50speed of two elite defenders. Chet Holmgren closes space quicker than most big men, and Jalen Williams
01:56navigates screens better than most wings. The subsequent three giveaways were more self-inflicted,
02:02Dylan Brooks mishandling the ball, Devin Booker driving into congested space with no clear passing lane,
02:08despite Colin Gillespie being open and screened for in the corner. And Ryan Dunn, bobbling a reception.
02:15Spacing is inextricably linked to those miscues. Gillespie emphasized off-ball movement on Tuesday
02:21as an absolute necessity, particularly given how far Oklahoma City's help defenders extend,
02:27away from their primary assignments, the four players without the ball must remain engaged and
02:32active to alleviate pressure. Then there was the nearly 12-minute stretch of game time,
02:37during which the Suns shot a frigid 3-of-20 from the field. Some of those attempts were looks the
02:42team is
02:42either comfortable with or accustomed to seeing Brooks and Jalen Green convert, both players have
02:47been tough shot-makers throughout the year, and a lower-quality look has not historically deterred
02:52them. However, there were also missed passing opportunities within that drought, such as
02:57Booker's shot attempt that was blocked by Holmgren when a wraparound dump-off to Oso Iguodaro was
03:02available, or any number of possessions that stagnated in isolation. Head coach Jordan Ott stated
03:09after the loss that the Suns cannot rely on isolation play in this matchup. When asked about that
03:14directive on Tuesday, Brooks noted that he will still look to isolate, and his brief reply, punctuated
03:20by a next question that was uncharacteristic of his usual media demeanor, suggested he fully understood
03:26that the critique was directed at his approach. The team-wide philosophy is clear, however, if isolation
03:32plays occur, know that they are not part of the intended plan. Definitely something that we can't do
03:38against them, Gillespie said. They have really good defenders. They play great team defense. They
03:44move as one. They're always on a string, so we have to be like that on offense. Just move as
03:49a string when
03:50guys are dribbling the ball. There's going to be situations where isos happen, but we have to be
03:55able to move off the ball to give those guys help. The bottom line is that the Suns can perform
04:00better.
04:00Had they done so, the first half might have been competitive, and perhaps the entire game could have
04:06taken a different shape depending on how Phoenix settled in. As it stood, they never gave themselves
04:10that chance because of their own mistakes. This is not a guarantee that they will be better, of course.
04:15The combination of offensive droughts from Phoenix and the Thunder's propensity for explosive scoring
04:21runs is a proven formula for a comfortable Oklahoma City victory. We will see if Phoenix can find a rhythm
04:27in game two, and whether that catches the Thunder off guard. One area where the Suns' performance was
04:32genuinely commendable was the defense played against the league's most valuable player.
04:37Phoenix's best work came while defending Shea Gilgius Alexander, the MVP shot 5 of 18.5.
04:47The Suns' best play against the Thunder on the title was the first time.
04:53The Suns mixed coverages effectively, utilizing Iguodaro in a higher drop position to prevent
04:58Gilgius Alexander from walking into mid-range jumpers, and, they implemented full switching
05:03at various junctures, helped defenders remained attentive, while also allowing teammates to defend
05:08on an island at times. Gilgis Alexander will undoubtedly review the film and see shots he
05:13normally converts, but Phoenix should feel good about the resistance they provided. Of SGA's five
05:19made field goals, four came in transition or directly off an offensive rebound. For the most
05:24part, Phoenix's help defense was solid in its decision-making. Gilgis Alexander is a willing
05:30passer given the gravitational pull he creates, even when kicking out to a mediocre shooter.
05:35The open corner three surrendered to Jalen Williams was the only such look given to an above
05:40average catch-and-shoot threat. The Suns will live with the rest of those outcomes.
05:44I think we did a good job. Shrink the floor, make their non-shooters shoot the ball, Brooks said.
05:50There were, however, examples of the mistakes that SGA's gravity can induce. On one three-point
05:56attempt, Brooks could be heard shouting, either directing Booker to recover to Lugwent's Dort in
06:01the corner or alerting him that Dort was drifting. Booker had peaked three times prior to locate
06:06Dort, so he was aware of the risk he was taking by committing to the double team. The result was
06:11a
06:11solid contest from Brooks on an average shooter, which is an acceptable outcome. Conversely, off a
06:18Suns miss. Gillespie picked up Gilgis Alexander and Brooks sprinted all the way across the half-circle
06:24to cut off a drive at the rim that left Alex Caruso wide open underneath, representing the
06:30type of ill-advised defensive attention that perhaps should have been a rotation for Green to cover
06:35down low. As for Gilgis Alexander's 15-of-17 performance from the free-throw line, the Suns
06:41should not feel as though they were victims of the whistle. The majority of those fouls felt
06:47controllable. All four shooting fouls drawn in the first quarter-and-half were instances where Phoenix
06:53placed its hands in positions that allowed SGA to do the rest. Two came on drives that will be called
06:59every time, and two came on aggressive shot contests. In the second half, he drew fouls on
07:04Royce O'Neal and Iguodaro early, followed by an off-ball infraction on Brooks, and an N-1 opportunity
07:10off an offensive rebound against Booker. That was the extent of it. Gilgis Alexander will relentlessly
07:16force his way to the line, and he benefits from favorable calls, but Sunday's mixture appeared to be
07:21more about correctable Phoenix errors. Brooks estimated at least half of those free-throws were
07:26Phoenix's own fault, and Ott correctly labeled them silly, looking ahead to Game 2. If Jordan Goodwin,
07:32who is listed as questionable, after re-aggravating his left calf, and not returning on Sunday,
07:37is unable to play, Phoenix should reconsider the lineup that opened the second half featuring
07:42Royce O'Neal. Gilgis Alexander immediately hunted O'Neal on a switch for the first two possessions
07:46of the half, generating excellent looks before mysteriously veering away from that attack.
07:50Oklahoma City will not be as passive to start Game 2 if O'Neal is on the floor in that
07:54situation.
07:55The best answer in the backcourt might be Gillespie. While undersized and likely to become a defensive
08:01target, Gillespie possesses the lateral foot speed to at least deny drives to the rim on most possessions,
08:07which is something O'Neal struggles with against this level of quickness. There will be calls for Ryan
08:11Dunn or Rashear Fleming, but Oklahoma City's help defense is so pristine that it can expertly rotate
08:16off non-shooters and force Phoenix to play the ball into their hands. The results of that dynamic were
08:21evident for Dunn and Haywood Highsmith in Game 1. Of course, if Grayson Allen can actually play,
08:26after two straight games where he was designated available, yet logged zero minutes, he becomes the
08:32clearest solution. Allen is once again listed as questionable. Should he be available, the next point
08:38of intrigue will be whether he actually checks into the game. If both Allen and Goodwin are unable to
08:44go, the harsh reality of the best available option is extending the minutes of Booker, Brooks, and Green
08:50for as long as this contest remains competitive. Booker may need to play nearly the entirety of the
08:56first half. Ott described Booker's defensive performance on Sunday as fantastic, and he was
09:02correct. Booker has delivered exceptional two-way playoff performances before, most notably in
09:082023. The Suns will require one of those efforts on Wednesday, and what about forcing turnovers on
09:14the other end? For all the focus on Phoenix's 19 giveaways leading to a staggering 34-2 Thunder
09:19advantage in points-off turnovers, the Suns manage to force only eight turnovers themselves. If that
09:25number remains in single digits, Phoenix must achieve near-perfection in every other facet of the
09:30game, just to have a chance. Forcing turnovers was a pillar of this team's defensive identity during the
09:36regular season, ranking fourth in steals, just behind the Thunder. On Sunday, the steals' battle
09:42was a lopsided 13-3 in favor of Oklahoma City. The Thunder protect the ball better than any team in
09:48the league, leading the NBA in turnover percentage for consecutive years. The Suns must find a way to
09:54inject their own style of havoc into the game. Physicality. Be in the right positions when they're
10:01driving and trying to kick it out and then heating their bigs when they have the ball to make them
10:06drivers, Brooks said when asked how they can generate more takeaways. They're elite at it,
10:11Ott said, of OKC's ball security. Multiple ball handlers on the floor, they have really good spacing
10:17but we've been able to do it against them. Goody is a big piece of that. I think our crowds,
10:22and how
10:23active we are in crowds, we just gotta get some juice and energy back. If the Suns continue to allow
10:28Oklahoma City multiple shot attempts on a single possession, while failing to generate pace off
10:33steals and blocks. Wednesday will yield a similar result. Blocks are not officially scored as
10:37turnovers, but a blocked shot recovered by the defense might as well be counted as one in terms
10:41of enabling transition opportunities. The Thunder held a 7-2 edge in blocks as well. We could play a
10:49little bit faster. Defensively, we had some good possessions and some good things that we saw,
10:54but then it just happened to be where they got the offensive rebound, and we didn't finish
10:58with limiting them to one shot, Gillespie noted. Stuff like that hurts. Coach Ott also highlighted a
11:05subtle offensive detail. We gotta get to our outlets faster in the half court. This refers to the initial
11:10passes, designed to escape a situation where Oklahoma City's help defense has fully cut off the angles for
11:17the ball handler. We just gotta be a little bit more perfect in our initial spacing, and then after that
11:22initial pass, Ott concluded, perfect, indeed. So, as we look toward tip-off, the question is not solely about
11:30which X's and O's will be drawn up. It is about whether this group can execute the basics at a
11:36level that
11:36allows them to withstand the Thunder's, inevitable, runs. What is the one fundamental area, be it
11:43rebounding, ball security, or off-ball movement that you believe the Suns absolutely must clean up to keep
11:48this game from slipping away early again.
11:503
11:506
11:507
11:50All 1
11:507
11:509
11:509
11:519
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