Since the All-Star break, the Phoenix Suns are 2-4, good for 21st in the NBA in this span, and a big reason for this is turnovers.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The Suns (35-26) have averaged 16 turnovers per game in these six games. They have also only averaged 24 assists per game in this period. Both of these statistics are 26th in the NBA since the All-Star break.
Last time out on Sunday against the Thunder might have been their worst showing. Granted the Suns didn’t have Devin Booker, but they accumulated 22 turnovers as a team in a 118-110 loss. Bradley Beal had seven of them, while Kevin Durant and Jusuf Nurkić each had five. This came one game after they had 19 in a loss to the Rockets Saturday.
“That is definitely why we lost the game,” Beal said of the Suns’ turnover problem after the Thunder loss. “They did a good job of junking up the game a little bit. Forced us into a lot of bad passes, sometimes we played in crowds, we weren’t making good passes; just everybody.”
Nurkić had the most rebounds in a single game Suns’ history and the most in the NBA since 2010 with 31 in the loss. He did not even care because the Suns did not win and the turnovers continued to pile up.
“It does not really matter,” Nurkić said about the rebounding record. “I mean, it is great, but we lost the game. Another turnover issue, we had 22, so I think we all agree that this s— has got to change. It really has to be the number one thing in our minds. So, we will see, going forward, something different.”
The Suns are averaging 15 turnovers per game for the season, which is the 27th-worst mark in the NBA. Kevin Durant alone has the ninth highest turnover average in the NBA at 3.3. He had six against the Rockets Saturday before having five against OKC, as teams are starting to double-team him as soon as he catches the ball.
“They fouled the s— out of Kevin Durant all night,” Suns’ coach Frank Vogel said after the Thunder loss. “Whether he has the ball, and he’s getting stripped three or four, maybe five times. Every time he tries to get open, he’s being held, which is something I really want to league to look at. But that’s where it starts with the turnover problem.
“But, we’ve had issues with it throughout the year, and (the Thunder are) number one in the league in forcing turnovers. We didn’t handle their pressure well enough, and recognizing their length when we try to touch the paint. It was costly.”
Nurkić has averaged the most turnovers among centers since the All-Star break at 3.4, as the Suns are starting to run a lot more actions through him. In the Suns’ matchup against the Rockets Thursday, a game that they won 110-105, Nurkić had a team-high seven turnovers.
“I got five of them (against the Thunder),” Nurkić said Sunday about turnovers. “Few games ago, I got seven of them. I have to be better. And I think from tonight, we saw some players step up. Big emphasis (on turnovers), should be number one going forward for us. Because we have the power, we have people who can score the ball no matter what. And I think if we don’t turnover, we’re going to win a lot of games. We can’t be dominating teams as we wish we can if we don’t turn the ball over. We just giving too much people to have advantage over us.
“22 (turnovers) and 31 points (allowed off turnovers), it’s hard to overcome especially down players, and one of our best players out in Devin Booker. Just got to be smart. I think most of our turnovers is in a good place, but you just got to find a way. I think that’s the biggest thing going forward for the rest of the season. (If) we’re going to playoffs, we’re gonna see this team again, and a lot of teams who force you in playing a fast type of basketball. It’s almost we should shoot a bad shot instead of turn it over.”
What can the individual players due to limit their number of turnovers? Beal, who was only in his second game back against the Thunder after missing five games due to injury, has a simple solution.
“Shoot the ball,” Beal said. “That’s how you fix it. Don’t over pass. That’s where a lot of our turnovers come from. We pass up a shot and try to drive into the paint, we turn the ball over. Shoot the first shot. That avoids a lot of those. Hell, I think a lot of mine came from staring down KD (Kevin Durant). Just play basketball. We can’t be robotic over here. We got to just hoop. I think that’s where a lot of our turnovers come from, just ill-advised, not even being pressured. Just little simple things that we can definitely just take out of the game.”
The Thunder, who only had six team turnovers, had 102 field-goal attempts to the Suns’ 91. At that point, it becomes a numbers game, as the Suns’ are second-to-last in the NBA in forced turnovers per game over the last six matchups at 11.3.
On the season, the Suns, who are fifth in the NBA in field goal percentage at 49.3%, are averaging 86 field goal attempts compared to 91.2 for their opponents. Phoenix is forcing 12.8 turnovers per game through 61 games.
“If you shoot the ball more, you have a better chance of winning,” Beal continued after the Thunder loss. “They shot 102 (field goals), we shot 91 times.”
Tonight, the Suns travel to play the Nuggets (42-19). Luckily for Phoenix, Denver only forces 12.3 turnovers per game, which ranks 27th in the NBA. If the Suns’ turnover problem continues tonight and onward, Phoenix will have a lot to figure out in a short amount of time, as they only have 21 games left and are in sixth place in the Western Conference.
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
