Suns Struggle With Team Play

By Luke Gamble

When it comes to basketball there are five men on the court, but that seems to be something the Phoenix Suns have struggled with this year. The Suns ranked 28th in the league this season in assists per game with the team averaging just 21.3. What may be harder to believe is that the only two teams ranked below the Suns in assists per game are two playoff teams, the Trailblazers and the Thunder.

However, the only reason the Suns rank 28th right now is because of their acquisition of Elfrid Payton at the trade deadline. Payton led the team this season with 6.2 assists per game, which was good enough to finish 12th in the league. It is also known that Payton is one of the weakest points on the team defensively, so even when the Suns win, they lose.

The Suns have struggled to spread the ball out all year, which has led to the low assist numbers and low scoring numbers. All season long we have pointed out the lackadaisical defensive efforts of the Suns, but if they can’t figure out how to move the ball when they get it then not even defense will help them.