How should the Phoenix Suns lift the limit for the team under the conditions of existing players in the new season

The upper limit of the Phoenix Suns team has been increased in the following points

1. The functions of the double guard are refined, and the offensive potential is released. Green focuses on organization and breakthrough passes. As a full-time point guard, he needs to fully utilize his pick-and-roll pass vision (6.8 assists per 100 rounds when he played the point guard at the previous guest), and give priority to the inside line to Mark Williams (period 10.2 rebounds and 60.4% shooting percentage last season), and at the same time, he uses the advantage of speed to break through and pass the ball, activate the three-point threat from Dillon Brooks (the defensive vanguard) and the wing shooter group (the three-point shooting percentage of the target team has increased to 36%). Turnovers need to be strictly controlled (2.5 per game last season), and reduce the average turnovers to less than 2 through tactical training to avoid disrupting the offensive rhythm.

Book returns to the core score role

Book (averages 25.6 points last season) reduces the ball-holding organization tasks, focuses on running without the ball and receiving shots, uses Green's pass to create misaligned singles opportunities, and plays out his historical middle-distance stability (real career hit rate of 58.3%). At critical moments, Booker retained the right to hold the ball and formed a "scoring + organization" dual-engine mode with Green. The target averaged 28 points and made an impact on the scoring rankings.

2. Build a defensive system to make up for the lineup shortcomings

Dillon + Mark Williams build a defensive core

Dillon Brooks (108 last season's defensive efficiency) is responsible for countering opponents' arrow characters, using physical confrontation and stealing ability (1.2 steals per game in his career) to limit opponents' scoring; Mark Williams (1.2 blocks per game) is in the inside and improves the efficiency of protecting the basket (the goal is to suppress the opponent's inside shooting percentage below 55%), and jointly strengthen rebounding competition with Dunn (power forward) (the team's rebounding percentage needs to be improved from 25th in the league to the top 15).

Green improves the focus on the defensive end

In response to the weak point guard position defense (the real positive and negative value of defense last season is -0.7), Green needs to strengthen the prediction of lateral movement speed and passing route, improve defense awareness through targeted training in offseason, and reduce defensive misses. You can learn from Chris Paul's defensive positioning experience and use flexibility to interfere with the opponent's dribble rhythm to avoid becoming a breakthrough for opponent's pick-and-roll tactics.

3. Optimize the depth of the lineup and tactical diversity

to speed up the fast break, and use young players to play the athletic talent

to use Mark Williams' rebound guarantee (10.2 rebounds per game) to promote the fast break conversion. Green and Booker, as double initiators, improve offensive and defensive conversion scores (the target averages 18+ fast break scores, top 10 in the league). The bench activated Colin Gillespie (38.2% from three-point shooting percentage) and Kaman Maluach (2025 No. 10 pick), maintaining the firepower of the second team and avoiding the offense being powered off after the main player left the field.

Developed the "Book + Green + Three Front Line" small lineup

At the critical moment, Booker (point guard), Green (point guard), Dillon (small forward), Dunn (power forward), and Rahill Fleming (swingman) "five small lineups" were sent to the "five small lineup" of Booker (point guard), Green (point guard), Dunn (power forward), and Rahill Fleming (swingman) to use the space advantage (Fleming's three-point shooting percentage last season 36.5%) to open up the offensive space. Green and Booker created misalignment through pick-and-roll replacement, improving the efficiency of key ball handling.

4. Long-term planning: Use the game instead of training to accumulate chemical reactions

Preseason focus on running-in new tactics

Use the preseason games against the Lakers on October 3, and China and Macau on October 10 and 12 to test the effectiveness of Green's point guards and cooperate tacitly with the double guards, focusing on practicing tactics such as "pick-roll and roll," and "weak side bottom line empty cut" to lay the foundation for the start of the regular season.

Flexible adjustment of lineup in the mid-term

If the record in the first half of the season does not meet expectations (expected to be 30 wins), you can package veterans such as Iguodaro and draft picks, and trade them to get a 3D wing with defensive hardness (such as Patrick Williams-type players) to further strengthen the balance of the lineup. At the same time, maintain salary flexibility (about $40 million in 2026) to prepare for chasing the All-Star insider during the offseason.

Through the above points, the Suns can maximize the potential of young players during the reconstruction period, take "double guard drive + defensive improvement" as the core, gradually get rid of the salary dilemma, and accumulate competitiveness for returning to the playoffs in the next 2-3 years.