THE Phoenix Suns beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-111 on Wednesday, improving to 38-27 on the year and 15-9 when Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker all play.
Valley came back strong from being down 18 yesterday, but struggled again in the fourth quarter. Phoenix led by as many as nine in the fourth, but the Cavs had an opportunity to take the lead with less than a minute to play. The team’s problems in the final frame are well documented.
Many of their problems stem from the number of elite ball handlers they have. Ironically, the amount of offensive talent backfires when the stakes are highest because how they operate late in games varies from game to game. Sometimes it seems like a game of hot potato between the three stars as they want to show their trust in each other.
With the season now at 65 games, the Suns need to find a cohesive plan late in the game and stick to it every game. Devin Booker constantly playing point guard late in the game or Kevin Durant playing center are possible solutions. The Suns don’t have enough time in the regular season to be a team that relies on its reactivity against opposing personnel in the final moments of competitions. They don’t even know what type of team they are when the games get closer. The Suns’ play in the fourth left many people perplexed.
“Hey, what if we take the stupidest shot possible every time on the floor?”
Phoenix Suns 2023-24 Fourth Quarter Offense
-Jack Borman (@jrborman13) March 6, 2024
If they can solidify a cohesive identity, they can then determine who they are as a team in the clutch, helping them, at the very least, identify a routine. Once they do that, they become more powerful as a unit, given the offensive talent of their top three players, the elite shooting that Eric Gordon and Grayson Allen bring, and the physicality that Jusuf Nurkić gives in Phoenix.
The Suns should let Kevin Durant lead the point guard in late-game situations. He is the team’s best player and shooter, which spaces the floor for other players. Durant is a worthy playmaker and has run the point at times for Valley this year. The Slim Reaper point guard’s best outing came on December 27 against the Houston Rockets.
Durant is also a more than capable shot creator late in games; look no further than his game-winner against the Bulls in January.
Letting Durant become the primary ball handler down the stretch is one way for Phoenix to resolve its final quarter woes. They just have to stick to something.
Maybe, when or if they find something that works, teams will have to start being reactionary to their play late in games. The experimental phase of the regular season is over. Phoenix must find a good rhythm for the month of April.
