Phoenix's best teams had a star backcourt, and Devin Booker still gives them one. But a 125.8 defensive rating through four games has the Suns 12th and projected to 21-61 at this pace.
The backcourt tradition. Nash, Paul and now Booker: Phoenix has built around guards who score. Booker is averaging 22.3 points in four games and hitting 31.3 percent of his threes. The stardom is intact. The results around it are not, and that gap is the story.
Barkley's 62 wins. Charles Barkley arrived in 1992 and won MVP in 1992-93 as Phoenix set a franchise record with 62 wins, then lost the Finals to Chicago in six. That team had a star and a supporting cast to match. This one is 1-3 and 12th.
Thirteen straight springs. The 1988 trade for Kevin Johnson, Mark West and Tyrone Corbin led to a franchise-record thirteen straight playoff seasons. The current Suns sit one game behind Golden State for tenth place and two behind Spurs for sixth. The ground is still reachable.
The Nash-era math. The 2004-05 Suns under Mike D'Antoni tied the franchise win record by outscoring people. This version is not failing at that: 114.3 offensive rating. Allowing 125.8 is what sinks it, a net of minus 11.5 across four games, a small sample.
Nov. 1 has been unkind. Phoenix has played six games on this calendar date and gone 2-4. The wins came in 1980 at Kansas City, 127-100, and in 2008 against Portland, 107-96. The latest, in 2014 at Utah, was a 91-118 loss.
A bigger bill. Jerry Colangelo's group bought the franchise for $44 million in 1987-88. Today the payroll is $213.8M, above the first apron, with Booker at $57.1M and Jalen Green at $36.3M. Green is scoring 11.0 a game, and Brooks and Bridges are each at 16.
What is the Suns' record this season?
The Suns are 1-3 and 12th in the West. Their only win came against Golden State, 131-122 on Oct. 24.
How close is Devin Booker to 4,000 career assists?
By our count he is 71 short, about 14 games away at his 5.3 a game this season. That is a projection at the current pace.
