The Suns are now three games into a shocking lineup change as head coach Mike Budenholzer decided to shake things up and moved Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic to the bench. Phoenix had lost 7 of their last 8 games and was quickly watching their season spiral out of control. The move was unexpected. It seemed nonsensical. It seemed desperate.
And yet, it seems to be working.
Granted, it’s an extremely small sample size at this point, but in the three games since the change, the team has responded. The Suns have won 2 of those games and have looked to be playing harder and more with a purpose. Beal has made it clear it doesn’t agree with the benching, that he sees himself as a starter in this league, but he hasn’t let the benching diminish his play. Actually, its quiet the opposite. He’s played inspired, having scored 60 points in three games while shooting 59% from the floor. In fact, his numbers are almost up across the board.
The question is how sustainable is this run. Is Phoenix just the beneficiary of playing some poor teams and will ultimately return to the mean? Or have they figured something out with this new rotation that has finally unlocked some of the potential with this team that is loaded with talent? Only time will tell, but so far, they’re off to a good start.
The Suns return to action on Saturday when they host the Jazz.
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Spenser Tilus is a sports reporter for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account @Spenser_Tilus
