The Phoenix Suns typically withhold judgment on their rotations until they have a 20-game sample size to work with. They’re only 16 games into the new season, and their new starting lineup hasn’t even had seven full games together yet. However, with Chris Paul’s sore right heel set to be re-evaluated later this week, and Cam Johnson out for 1-2 months due to a torn right meniscus, the Suns will be rolling with Cam Payne and Torrey Craig in that starting five for the foreseeable future. The question is, even with such a small sample size, what have we seen from Phoenix’s new starting lineup? The Suns have strived for “stacking solid,” as coach Monty Williams calls it, and the…

Cam Payne and the Phoenix Suns’ bench felt like areas for concern heading into 2022-23, but both have played better than advertised. The problem is, Payne hasn’t entirely been a consistent member of that second unit yet. The reason? Injuries and one public trade request have dealt significant blows to the Suns’ depth, forcing Payne, Torrey Craig and a few others into more prominent roles. In the long-term, that’s certainly not a bad thing. Even in the short-term, Payne has performed admirably in Chris Paul’s stead. Wednesday’s blowout win over the Golden State Warriors was a pristine example of that, as Payne finished with a career-high 29 points and 7 assists while shooting 9-of-17 from the field. https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1593121505587494914?s=20&t=ehDR096QOppxysJ-elB65w “He hooped,”…

For the first 24 excruciating minutes, the Phoenix Suns’ 2022-23 season opener felt like a continuation of their Game 7 annihilation back in May. Shots weren’t falling, Luka Doncic was smirking, the Dallas Mavericks were up by more than 20 and hope felt like it had been drained from The Footprint Center itself. At one point, the Suns had battled...

For better or for worse, Cam Payne may be the barometer for how the Phoenix Suns’ bench unit fares in 2022-23. After an offseason that took a “run it back” approach outside of a few minor additions, there’s understandable concern about the Suns’ second unit — most of which stems from the backcourt, where Payne’s disappearing act in the playoffs...

Phoenix Suns fans have spent the last month waiting for a Kevin Durant trade to materialize, but in the meantime, they largely have the same roster to look forward to next season. Well, almost the same, thanks to Dario Saric. Outside of extending Deandre Ayton and Devin Booker, the Suns’ only means to improve at this point lies in continuity,...

The Phoenix Suns are heading into a pivotal offseason that will reveal quite a bit about the front office’s faith in its current roster. Coming off a 64-win season that ended with the worst playoff loss in franchise history, it’ll take all summer to reconcile the joy of the team’s best regular season ever and its utterly disappointing conclusion. There’s...

For the second night in a row, a pesky opponent in the middle of the Western Conference pack stormed out to a high-scoring, smack-talking first half. And for the second night in a row, Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns responded to a rowdy playoff environment and pulled out a gritty win on the road. Only this time, Thursday’s win...

The Phoenix Suns are thriving, not just surviving without Chris Paul. If recent reports are to be believed, they won’t have to do so for much longer. According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, Paul is already nearing his return from a right thumb avulsion fracture that was supposed to sideline him for 6-8 weeks, and he could be ready to...

In a battle between the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and the No. 1 seed in the East Wednesday night, it wasn’t close. In a 111-90 road shellacking, the Phoenix Suns made the Miami Heat look like the team that was playing on the second night of a back-to-back, not the other way around. Despite falling short in...