Booker + Green + Dillon, does the Suns have a playoff?

For most fans, with Durant leaving, it is basically difficult for the Suns to be linked to the championship in the new season. Many voices even said that there is basically no point in this team.

But if you change the angle, from an optimistic perspective, the Suns are not completely abandoned. Instead, they still have something to look forward to.

Personal point of view, even without Durant, the Suns still have the chance to enter the playoffs. Just to do this, this team must hand in a qualified answer on three criteria:

Level 1: Can Booker's three-pointer be stable?

mentioned Devin Booker, who entered the league as a shooter and gradually stood firm in the team's core with top-level shooting performance, but judging from the past few seasons, Booker's long shots seem to be not stable enough.

Last season, Booker averaged 7.3 three-point shots per game, but his shooting percentage was only 33.2%, far below the league average. In detail, during the season, three-point shooting percentage was less than 30% in 37 games, of which 25 of them were shot one or fewer three-pointers. On the other hand, when Booker was able to score more than 3 three-pointers in a single game, the Suns' record was 21 wins and 14 losses, and the winning rate increased significantly.

This is basically the key to the Suns' new season.

Referring to Booker's 2021-22 season, he averaged 38.3% of his three-point shooting percentage, ranking fourth on the MVP list, and is a truly top scorer in the league. Now two years have passed, Booker's helpers have changed one after another, and the Suns no longer have a Hall of Fame defender like Paul to share the pressure. If Booker wants to return to the MVP discussion, three-pointers are definitely the key that he can't get around.

If he can hit enough long shots in the pick-and-roll and continue to open up the offensive space in the offense run, it will not only make his breakthrough easier, but also create more offensive conditions for Green, Dillon and even other young players. Simply put, Booker's three-point mass is almost the weather vane of the sun ceiling.

The second level: Jaylen Green, can you grow?

As the second-tier show in 2021, Jaylen Green has not been doing well with the Rockets in recent years. The team's change, reconstruction, and unclear positioning have led to his growth trajectory gradually deviating from expectations. When joining the Suns in the new season, Green finally ushered in a starting point that truly belongs to him.

In Phoenix, Green no longer needs to bear the pressure of the main scoring king, nor does he have to force his attack alone. With an All-Star Leader like Booker around you, all Green has to do is to open up his hands and exert the breakthrough confrontation and explosive power that he is best at. From the perspective of talent, Green's physical condition and offensive potential need no more words. His question is whether he can maintain stability and whether he can play and win.

This failed case in Houston is enough for him to learn from his experience. If he can truly grow in Phoenix, he will either become the second core of the Suns' reconstruction or become a tempting enough chip to exchange for another star for the team. No matter which possibility, Green's performance will directly determine the future of the Sun.

The third level: Dillon Brooks, can he support the defense? In addition to the offensive end, look at the defensive part. Since the Suns lost Bridges and Crowder in the trade, the team's defensive hardness has plummeted until it became the worst defensive team in the league last season. And for the new season, Dillon Brooks is probably the one who is highly expected to change the Suns. During the Grizzlies' period, this defensive vanguard played the top five defenses in the league three times; during the Rockets period, he was also considered the only reliable defender on the court.

For Di Long, his characteristic is that he is tough and not afraid of confrontation, and even his teammates dare to fight hard. And this attitude is what the sun lacks the most.

In the past few years, the Suns have been missing a tough character who can defend the opponent's core single-handedly. And Di Long's arrival just happened to make up for this shortcoming. Especially behind him, the young teams such as Green, Dunn, Fleming, and Mark Williams will not be too soft at least on the defensive end.

If the Suns want to gain a foothold in the West, their offense mainly depends on Booker and Green, and Dillon takes the lead in the defensive end.

For the new season of the Suns, facing an environment without the pressure to compete for the championship and without Durant, they are more like a new team looking for direction again. But because of this, the Suns in the new season are more worthy of fans' attention.