Amidst the Suns’ search for their first win in the playoffs, there may be some lineup changes heading into Game 3, but others think analysts have ideas that take it a step further.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!With Grayson Allen re-injuring his right ankle, his status going forward is unknown, at the time of reporting.
But with Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker in the same lineup, some people believe the Suns are missing a “real” point guard to achieve success. Booker has played his whole career as a shooting guard before transitioning to being a point guard this year.
On the FanDuel TV show Run It Back, retired NBA players Lou Williams and Chandler Parsons both talked about what the Suns should do with Beal and Isaiah Thomas in particular.
Thinking Outside The Box
Williams proposed the idea that Beal could come off the bench and give Thomas more minutes, forming a unique duo.
As a response, Parsons made the bold claim that Phoenix coach Frank Vogel should not just play Thomas more, but start him.
“Literally start Isaiah Thomas, start a point guard,” Parsons said. “Brad Beal, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, they are all phenomenal scorers who can score in an array of ways. They have always had a point guard, they have always had someone to set up. So this year, they are some of the best-scoring wings that we have in the NBA and we are trying to turn them into point guards? It’s just not what they do, it’s not what they’ve done their whole career to make them who they are.
“The fact that we are this late into the season where the season is almost over for them and they have one point guard on their roster, it’s Isaiah Thomas. They just signed him two weeks ago… When you are down and your offense is straight p*** like theirs has been right now, they have to make a change, they have to do something drastic here because what they are doing here is not working… There is no flow, there is no movement to their offense because they don’t have a setup guy and just three scorers.”
"Is it a time now for the Phoenix Suns, where they explore the idea of maybe Bradley Beal coming off the bench?"@TeamLou23 suggests Bradley Beal come off the bench with Isaiah Thomas 👀 #NBAPlayoffs #PhoenixSuns
📺: https://t.co/wdT8I0ST8g pic.twitter.com/FfxrYhEBdk
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) April 24, 2024
In his second stint in Phoenix since the 2014-15 season, Thomas has come off the bench for just six games. Battling his way back to the NBA after multiple stops and uncertainty, the 35-year-old has averaged 1.3 points and 0.5 assists in his small sample size.
As for Beal, he played 53 regular-season games and averaged 18.2 points, five assists and four rebounds in his first year in the Valley. So far in the playoffs, he has produced 14.5 points, six assists and 3.5 rebounds in the first two games.
If Thomas were to start, it would shock the team and its fanbase, but present a new dimension that could unlock the Suns’ true potential of needing a true playmaker. The chances of the Suns benching Bradley Beal, however, are unlikely.
Do you agree with Chandler Parsons or are they unrealistic?
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Alec Cipollini covers Phoenix Sports News for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
