PHOENIX — What projected to be a major thorn in the Phoenix Suns’ side with Devin Booker this year has not been an issue in the slightest and it sparked Sunday’s 112-93 victory over the Washington Wizards.
In the first half specifically, the Suns (24-15) are still outscoring teams when Booker is off the floor, at 2.1 points per 100 possessions, per NBA Stats. That tiny number might seem insignificant but the Suns’ talent drop off beyond their star was a concern in many ways, particularly when he was getting a breather. Add on no Jalen Green outside of five quarters and those minutes should honestly be a mess.
But the fact that the second unit can either hold a lead or not allow an opponent to make up ground when Booker rests is a large part of Phoenix’s success this year.
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And then on some nights like Sunday, the reserves spark the team into creating separation.
“Love the way they played in that first stint,” Suns head coach Jordan Ott said. “It’s both ends. It’s a ton of pressure on both ends, they really move the ball offensively, they’re willing to cut, they’re willing to screen, they’re willing to make the extra pass. And then defensively, we are a switching unit, so not only do we switch (but) we want to force turnovers and find ways to rebound.”
Phoenix went +2 when Booker was out for 2:01 in the opening frame, and across the first 5:35 of the second quarter, the Suns’ lead grew from four to 13. That was tremendously helpful after a predictable snoozy start from the starters in the last game at home before the longest road trip of the season.
A Ryan Dunn tip dunk and 3-pointer was joined by triples for Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale, as well as the strongest possessions of team defense to that point and a steal-score combination for rookie Rasheer Fleming. Phoenix had 25 of its 47 bench points in the first half.
That’s not to mention what Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin and Oso Ighodaro have continuously done in those spurts all season long.
“They have a lot of chemistry,” Booker said. “They always up the pressure. … The ball is hopping around and there’s no dip off when we step off the floor. We understand that’s important to go where we’re trying to go.”
Dillon Brooks isn’t in there for those minutes, either. He’s quietly been on a minutes cap that rarely reaches 35 and the Suns appear to target somewhere around 29-32 minutes per game for him.
With Jalen Green’s return looming, that will likely be his time, and the scoring he would bring to that second unit with the substitution pattern he will be on is the first thing Brooks said when asked about him coming back.
In Gillespie’s 20 starts, he’s usually checking out just a few minutes into the first quarter and then coming back in near the end of it as Booker and Brooks sit. Green’s got a big responsibility to handle in that pocket given how well it has been going at the halfway point of the season, as does Gillespie to replicate his stellar play in a much different role.
While there was some leakage in the Suns defense for the beginning portions of the second half, their lead over the Wizards (10-28) never shrunk to single-digits and later expanded to 29 by the time the fourth quarter arrived.
Booker finished 5 of 14 for 17 points with eight assists and one turnover. He played a major role in the Suns generating a 17-for-52 mark from 3-point range that was reliant on that volume with a 33% knockdown rate. His work orchestrating the last few games has been the best it has looked all year.
O’Neale will have a few roller-coaster rides shooting the ball and the first go-around of this season is here. He made three of his 17 attempts over a three-game stretch prior to these last four which have logged a 18-for-36 (50%) total. He scored a season-high 19 points with seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Brooks picked up his 13th technical foul the season, a silly offsetting double-tech hardly worth mentioning from a sleepy officiating crew he just seemed to get on the wrong nerve with. It’s the type of reputation-based Ts that are particularly punishing for Brooks since he deservedly earns a lot of others as it is. That’s now three more until Brooks is assessed a one-game suspension. He scored 11 of his 16 points in the third quarter and shot 5-of-14.
The Suns, now sitting sixth in the Western Conference, have won nine of their last 11 games. They are just a half-game out of the fifth seed and two back of third place.
Two other important gaps are now larger too. Phoenix is 5.5 games ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers in ninth, the cut-off to getting an extra chance in the play-in tournament, and 8.5 games up on the 11th seed to qualify for the postseason.
The six-game road trip will span 12 days. It features one back-to-back, going from Brooklyn to Philadelphia on Jan. 19 and 20. Phoenix will be able to settle for two stretches, getting to New York on a late Thursday night and not leaving until that Monday evening, as well as two days off before the last fixture on Jan. 23 in Atlanta.
Ott will make sure the camaraderie is getting further developed, whether it is organic dinner plans made by the players or him and his staff finding the right nights to get together.
Washington was without new addition Trae Young. He has been injured for most of the season, and after making his return from a 22-game absence in mid-December, he only played in five games before once again racking up absences.
The Wizards will not be particularly motivated to get him back anytime soon. A stacked top-3 of the 2026 NBA Draft class made up of Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, BYU’s A.J. Dybantsa and Duke’s Cameron Boozer make every percentile of the lottery odds matter for the awful teams this year. On top of that, Washington’s pick is top-8 protected, so its current position of fourth would secure that selection since teams can drop a maximum of four slots.
With that said, Washington should want to test drive this thing to see if it is committed to Young long term, especially given the strong chance he declines his upcoming player option to sign an extension or become an unrestricted free agent. Usually, the blockbuster trade signals the contract will get done regardless. But the price Washington paid won’t even get you through a tollbooth.
The Wizards gave up the expiring contract of C.J. McCollum, a veteran who wouldn’t have been back, and Corey Kispert, who recently signed a four-year deal that could have grown into a midlevel albatross ($54 million over four years) for a team filled up on young wings already. Washington could let Young walk and still win the trade, so it should at least explore every possibility with how small the market will be for him in free agency, which rarely brings fireworks these days.
Young, in general, is the best example yet of the damage done by the new apron rules. No one wants to take the risk of paying him max money, because franchises can now only afford to pay just one guy that before a second max contract can greatly restrict the cap sheet. You want a no-doubt, contending-for-All-NBA-every-year stud in those contract slots.
Yes, he’s flawed. But Young is still a star, and flawed stars (like the now-available Ja Morant) are almost impossible to make work with the absolute nonsense these aprons continue to create. While the Wizards aren’t used to stars wanting to come to their organization, they would be wise to explore a short-term contract for Young’s upcoming payday. Then again, they’re the Wizards.
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