Phoenix Suns coach Frank Vogel can’t pinpoint the moment it all clicked that Bradley Beal playing the point would unlock another level of the Suns offense.
But there’s no question at this point that it has done just that.
The new-look Suns offense, with Brad as the head of the snake, was on full display Saturday night in San Antonio as No. 3 produced a season-best 12 assists with just one turnover and Phoenix rolled to a 131-106 win over the Spurs. It was the sixth straight game that Brad has dished out at least seven assists and as a result the Suns have won three straight games for the first time in two months.
“Twelve assists, one turnover is just a spectacular performance,” Phoenix coach Frank Vogel said. “He’s re-shaping his game for this team. This role is different from some of the roles he’s had on his teams in Washington. He’s going to do whatever the team needs. And to see him playing this way is really uplifting to our whole group.”
With Beal playing facilitator, Devin Booker had one of his best games in weeks, scoring 32 points on 14-of-24 and Kevin Durant added 25 points on a remarkably efficient 12-of-16. Eight of Brad’s 12 assists in the game went to either Durant or Booker. Beal scored just 13 points, but did that on an efficient 6-of-10 shooting.
It has been a bit of a slog for the Suns this season, making the pieces fit together between Brad, Booker and Durant. Poorly timed injuries to Beal and Booker haven’t helped. But Phoenix is currently one of its first extended stretches with all three players active, and Vogel and his assistants looked at their options to ignite the Suns offense, they decided to try a switch at the top of the key, making Brad, not Booker, the team’s primary ball-handler.
“There were some games where Book was handling the point and we were trying to get KD and Brad involved and we just weren’t getting Brad involved enough,” the coach recalled. “And there were some stretches where Book would’ve been more comfortable just playing off the ball. So we made that switch, and Brad’s handling more.”
The trickle-down impact of that one decision has been undeniable. The Suns are scoring at a higher rate, their helpers are up, and they’re defending better as well. Case in point, Saturday’s win over San Antonio, where Phoenix limited an opponent under 108 points for the 19th time this season. Five of those 19 occurrences have happened in March, and Vogel credited Brad for his defense as well.
“He’s defending his butt off, too. His ball containment is the best on our team now and he’s doing it on both ends,” Vogel said. “He’s just involved. He doesn’t need to shoot the ball. You just don’t want a guy like that underutilized. When he started handling the point, and touching the paint at will —just really generating a lot of offense for us, whether it was scoring the basketball or spraying it back out — we just realized that there is a hell of a weapon there. And it sort of helped the pieces fall into place.”
It’s coming at just the right time for the Suns, as they fight for one of the Top 6 spots in the West. With 11 games remaining, they’re 42-29, which puts them in a tie with the Sacramento Kings for the sixth and final guaranteed playoff spot. Dallas and the Lakers are also in play for that spot, while the Pelicans and Clippers sit just a few games ahead in fourth and fifth.
A lot can change in the next few weeks, and all the Suns can do to make sure they’re in the best position possible when the music stops is to keep winning.
They’ll have a chance to do that as they finish their stay in San Antonio on Monday against the Spurs. Tip-off is slated for tip-off at 5 p.m. local time and the game can be seen on Arizona’s Family Sports.
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