Takeaways from Suns’ season-opening win over Mavericks

One of the more notable things for the Suns this season is their new starting five. Although it’s not a massive change, Cameron Johnson will spend more time with the starters this year. 

With this change in strategy, they’ve added another scoring threat to the opening lineup. However, Johnson isn’t known for his defense, and the Suns struggled to rotate defensively with him on the floor. During the first half of the game, the Suns used a zone defense to stop the Mavericks. On three separate defensive plays, Johnson rotated underneath the basket as the help defender to stop the pick and roll. 

However, that didn’t help the Suns, as he was too late or too deep in the paint. He tried to draw charges, but the officials ignored his attempts. This lack of defensive awareness caused the team to trail by more than 20 points. He isn’t at fault for all the defensive lapses of the Suns. Johnson tried his best to contribute offensively and scored 15 points for the team.

Devin Booker will have long stretches as the Phoenix Suns’ point guard

Devin Booker is one of the bright spots in Phoenix. Over the years, he’s developed into one of the best shooting guards in the NBA. But this season, we might see a different player in Devin Booker.

It’s not unusual to see the 6-foot-5 guard facilitate for the Suns at certain times. He’s played the point guard position for a few stretches, but his overall priority is to score the basketball. During their first game back, Booker spent adequate time as the team’s primary ball handler. It was apparent, especially during the fourth period. The Suns ended the game with a lineup of Booker, Cameron Payne, Damion Lee, Mikal Bridges, and Deandre Ayton.

Although Payne was on the floor for Phoenix, Booker directed the team’s offense. It’s already known that the three-time All-Star isn’t shy about sharing the rock. Yet, seeing him dish out nine assists against the Mavs was a surprise. This strategy could work on teams like Dallas, who likes to send out the double team during the fourth quarter.

Monty Williams will go heavy with situational lineups

Late in the fourth quarter, the Suns closed the 22-point gap between them and the Mavericks. After mounting a tiring comeback, head coach Monty Williams ended the game with a different approach.

As mentioned earlier, Phoenix had an unusual lineup when they finished off the Mavs late in the fourth. Chris Paul sat during that time and gave a chance to Payne and Lee, who scored all his 11 points in the fourth stretch. During the postgame interview, coach Williams did say that he wanted to get Paul into the mix, but Payne was in rhythm with the guys on the floor. Cameron Johnson was also one player that didn’t see any action late in the fourth quarter. Williams said that Johnson had leg cramps, so he just rolled with who was on the floor.

Interestingly, the five guys that ended the game were able to neutralize the Mavs defensively. With under 30 seconds left on the clock, Ayton used a screen to switch Booker’s defender.