Dillon Brooks’ 1-word fix for Phoenix’s early-season kryptonite

For everything we’re talking about the Phoenix Suns this offseasonthey were ready to be a bad defensive team. Well, at least that’s it Dillon Brooks and head coach Jordan Ott shared a vision for the.

Now the team has allowed 116, 129 and 133 points through the first three games of the season. Granted, the last two games were against the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets, two elite offensive units.

Regardless, both men feel that this is not a worthy enough excuse. Brooks attributed it one basic question after the game against the Nuggets.

“Communication,” Brooks said via AZCentral’s Duane Rankin on X (formerly Twitter).

That last one is a big question, but it makes sense given the state of the season. The team is just three games in, missing Jalen Green with a lingering hamstring injury, and has a new roster of players.

Not to mention, this is Otto’s first season as head coach of the Sunsso there is still some tweaking in his rotations and schemes.

Still, the standard is high, and the team has yet to meet it. It worked against the Sacramento Kings in the second half of their only win of the season, so good things could be on the horizon.

However, one half of basketball over six shouldn’t warrant a sound defensive scheme just yet.

It wasn’t just Dillon Brooks who criticized the Suns’ defense

Currently, the Suns have second worst defensive rating in the league. Again, this is a small sample, but one that Brooks will continue to dissect as the season progresses. His teams have improved drastically since he arrived.

The Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets adopted defensive philosophies and principles because of him. But Ott will also constantly watch those advanced metrics and see what goes wrong.

Much like Brooks, the head coach knows he is current point totals won’t cut it.

“We have to do better,” Ott said via Rankin on X (formerly Twitter). “There’s no excuse for that. We’re going to have to be better defensively. This is a defensive-minded group at times and we just lose our way, but we’re in three games.”

“There’s a pattern to all of this. A lot of it is what you play. I think we played some good offense. We’re going to keep looking. Find ways to guard better, find ways to attack better, but 133, it doesn’t matter where you’re at, it’s probably not going to work.”

The Suns can make strides on defense

In this small sample size, Mark Williams is gradually returning as the team’s starting center. The franchise managed his minutes microscopically. Also, they were back-to-back, so Williams won’t be playing in either half.

In his first game, he had a plus-15 in the box, as well as two key blocks. His defensive tackle as a rim protector and shot alterer go under the radar.

Furthermore, getting Green back into the starting lineup can do wonders. While he isn’t labeled as an All-NBA defender, his athleticism can pair nicely with the rest of the group.

Additionally, pairing with Brooks and Ott can help him use that athleticism to navigate screens, catch the ball at the point of attack and play crossovers more effectively.

The Phoenix will travel to Salt Lake City and take on the Utah Jazz on Monday to conclude a three-game road trip. It might not be how the Suns start the road trip, but how they finish defensively that can help them take away something positive.