5 Reasons the Phoenix Suns Will Win 40 Games

Mar 12, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) drives in against Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Suns 123-116. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The last time the Phoenix Suns won 40 games or more was three seasons ago in 2013-14. Can they approach a .500 record this year?

The Phoenix Suns have a lot of problems to deal with.

Unlike recent seasons however, some of these are good problems. How do you find minutes for 3 talented rookies, plus Booker, plus all the other guards? They aren’t lacking for players deserving minutes.

The Suns have missed the playoffs for a franchise-record six straight years and are at risk of winning less than 40 games for a third straight year this season (it would be just the third time in franchise history it happened), but the latter will not come true for multiple reasons.

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1.) Devin Booker is more than just a shooter

The hype is real, but even more so is the talent. While Booker averaged just 13.8 PPG on 43.2 percent shooting, it is the improvement Suns’ fans saw over the course of the last 12 months that should have people in The Valley excited.

In his rookie campaign, Booker was given more minutes as the Suns’ season spiraled downward and out of playoff contention, which gave the 19-year old plenty of creative freedom with the basketball.

Not only did his usage percentage increase nearly each month (17.4, 15.3, 17.9, 22.5, 21.2, 27.2, 26.9), but so did his PPG (7.0, 4.5, 7.6, 17.3, 13.5, 22.4, 18.1).

All 16 of Booker’s 20+ point games came after the start of the new year, and by the time April rolled around, Booker was scoring in more ways than one.

Off the dribble, in the paint, on the break and of course from distance, Booker had turned into perhaps the Suns’ best scorer in a few short months.

Oct 3, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Jared Dudley (3) and center Tyson Chandler (4) high five against the San Antonio Spurs during the first half at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

2.) Phoenix Suns brought back veteran leadership

The additions of veterans who previously spent time in Phoenix not only adds depth to the Suns’ bench, but will give the plethora of young players someone to lean on. Heck, there is even one guy for each position.

Center Tyson Chandler is returning and can continue to help Alex Len develop, although so far Chandler is holding onto the starting spot.

Former Sun Leandro Barbosa is returning to the valley and has played both point and shooting guard. He has experience winning a championship with the Golden State Warriors, as well as playing a big role with the Brazilian national team.

Jared Dudley has played three positions in his career, both forward positions and shooting guard. Dudley played both small forward and shooting guard for Phoenix from 2008-2013. He has been very vocal about his desire to lead and teach the young Suns.

Guys like Barbosa are not only going to provide championship-caliber experience and knowledge on the court, but off the court as well. It seems Barbosa has already taken Devin Booker under his wing.

Oct 3, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe (2) goes up for a layup against San Antonio Spurs center Dewayne Dedmon (3) during the first half at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

3.) The Phoenix Suns will be healthy…enough

Last season, starting point guard Eric Bledsoe went down for the season in December with a knee injury while averaging over 20 PPG, while injuries also nearly cut Brandon Knight’s season in half.

These injuries, along with plenty of other smaller ones, showed the Suns’ lack of depth, and forced rookies and more inexperienced players like Booker, Sonny Weems, Jon Leuer and Cory Jefferson to take on larger roles with the team.

This year the Phoenix Suns’ locker room is built on a foundation of youth, potential, experience and diverse talent, the perfect ingredients for a rebuilding team.

Phoenix has four players age 20 or younger from the last two NBA drafts, Devin Booker was the fourth youngest player to ever reach 1,000 points, Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight are still only 26 and 24 years old, and the Suns have eight players who can play multiple positions (Bledsoe, Tucker, Booker, Knight, Dudley, Bender, Barbosa, Chriss.)

Even if a few guys go down, this roster has the ability to say “next man up” with fortitude when that sentence was cringe-worthy to Suns’ fans last year. They have the depth to win 40 games this season.

Oct 5, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Leandro Barbosa (19) handles the ball in the first half of the game against the Utah Jazz at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports

4.) The three ball is back for the Phoenix Suns.

Last year the Suns were 17th in three-point percentage, shooting 34.8 percent from deep, six points below the league average.

This year they have six players on the roster who have had at least one season where they shot above 38.5 percent from distance, two of which they added in the off-season. Those two are Leandro Barbosa and Jared Dudley, who are career 38.8 and 39.9 percent shooters from beyond the arc. The other four include T.J. Warren, Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight and P.J. Tucker.

Of course these six do not include Devin Booker or fourth-overall pick from this year’s draft Dragan Bender, who can both hit from deep. The Suns will be a top 10 three-point shooting team this season, and in a league where the three-point shot has become more of a necessity than a weapon, that is a huge advantage.

Next: The Western Conference Has Regressed

February 9, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30), forward Draymond Green (23), and guard Klay Thompson (11) hold their all star jerseys before the game against the Houston Rockets at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

5.) The Western Conference is not as deep as recent years.

For the first time since the shorted 1998-1999 season, the eighth seed in the Western Conference was claimed by a .500 team. After three straight years where the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference was grabbed by a team with a losing record, it seems the East has finally caught up.

Part of the reason the Houston Rockets got the eighth seed at 41-41 last year was because the conference was extremely top-heavy, largely in part due to the Golden State Warriors’ NBA-record 73 wins. The Western Conference Champions did not get any worse with the signing of Kevin Durant in July, so the same kind of world-beating can be counted on this season.

But not only that, many other Western Conference teams are falling out of their prime. The Oklahoma City Thunder will not be a 50-win team after losing Kevin Durant, The Los Angeles Clippers have an aging point guard in Chris Paul who will turn 32 in May of next year and Dirk Nowitzki only has so much more left in the tank in Dallas at age 38. The Suns were a combined 2-7 against those teams last season.

While many different lineup combinations could be used and it may take time for this group to mesh together, I predict the Phoenix Suns to win exactly 40 games this season.

So how many wins do you think the Suns will finish with this season? Do they win at least 40 games? Let us know in the comments.

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