In their own words: Suns talk 3-PG lineups, the tough West and staying healthy
The Phoenix Suns are one of the more intriguing teams in the Association.
Last year the team was expected to be at the forefront of the great 2014 tankapalooza. Instead they won 48 games in one of the toughest conferences ever and missed the postseason by one game. Buoyed by the two-headed backcourt monster of Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe, the Suns then made a surprising offseason splash by signing a third starting caliber point guard in Isaiah Thomas, in addition to re-signing Bledsoe.
The Suns are a treat to watch offensively, playing at one of the league's five fastest paces (98.8 possessions per game) and throwing out wonky lineups that sometimes include all three point guards on the floor at once.
Before their game against the Toronto Raptors earlier this week, Thomas, head coach Jeff Hornacek, and big man Miles Plumlee talked to us about using three-guard lineups, the pressure of every game in the unforgiving West playoff race, and the vaunted Suns training staff.
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The Suns have used lineups featuring all three of Dragic, Bledsoe and Thomas in eight games this season, totalling 23 minutes of floor time, according to NBA.com. The early results, albeit in a very small sample size, have been terrible. The three-guard lineup allows a whopping 124 points per possessions and has a net rating (offensive rating minus defensive rating) of -27.8.
theScore: You've used the three-point-guard lineup sparingly. What determines from game-to-game whether you go to that unique lineup look?
Hornacek: A lot of times it’s the score. If things aren’t going well. If we feel like we’re not getting the pace pushed like we want it, we’ll make them go that way and try to speed the game up. Sometimes it does depend on the other team, on the guys they have out there. A lot of the small forwards in this league are outside guys, but if the guy’s a post-up guy, then we can’t really use that. We really haven’t used it all that much, because we have other players at those positions. It’s there if we need it, but I don’t know if it’s something we can use a lot.
theScore: Has the way the game and league have changed, with forwards stepping outside more, paved the way for the use of smaller lineups like you guys use?
Hornacek: The league now, a lot of three-men are kind of just outside guys and not post-up. You look around the league, there’s a lot of teams that go with three relatively small guys. Maybe not as small as our guys, but if you’re going with a 6-2 point guard, a 6-4 two-man and a 6-5 three-man, I don’t know that there’s really much difference in that.
theScore: When you're out there with two other natural guards, do you guys actually have an assigned position from one through three? How does that work?
Thomas: It’s just whoever gets the ball (after a defensive possession) brings it up, and the other two (guards) run the lanes. Whether it’s two of us (point guards) out there or three of us, there’s really no positions.
theScore: Can you still play man-to-man defense when you have three point guards on the floor?
Thomas: Yeah. We can still do that. You just have to figure it out. You have to play tough, you have to show no back-down.
theScore: A lot of people know you as an undersized guard (Thomas is listed at 5-foot-9, matching Nate Robinson as the shortest active players) and think about how that can hurt your defense. Are there any ways you can use that size to your advantage on the defensive end?
Thomas: Just by my quickness. How low I am to the ground, how strong I am. I always feel like the closer they get to the basket, the more it’s their advantage. The further out that I can keep them from the paint or the basket, it’s to my advantage.
Hornacek on how Thomas can make an defensive impact despite his size:
You’ve got to use quickness. You’ve got to know when to get up on a guy, maybe when to back off a guy. Smarts of the game. You have to know your opponent and your personnel. Isaiah knows what every guy wants to do, and he takes advantage of it. You have to. He’s not a player who’s just going to go body a guy, but he can get in on him and make him think about where they’re going to put the ball down on the dribble. He’s good that way.
theScore: Is it frustrating when you look at the East standings and see mediocre teams in prime positions, meanwhile you guys missed the playoffs with 48 wins and have to scratch and claw for positioning?
Hornacek: No. Just because, I’ve been in the West 12 of the 14 years I played (Hornacek played for the Suns, 76ers and Jazz in his career). It seems like the West is always that way. It’s just part of it. It is what it is. In a way, it makes you play even better, because you know if you don’t win 48 or 49 games, you’re not going to be in the playoffs. There’s no time to coast. Guys should be fired up every game, because looking at the big picture, you have to win as many games as you can.
Thomas: A little bit. But you can’t have excuses. That’s just the way it is. Years ago, the East was better than the West. That’s just how it evens out. In the Western Conference, you can’t give any games up. You’ve got to try to win every ball game, because it will come back to haunt you at the end of the year.
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Walk into an NBA locker room during pregame media availability and you'll often see the same thing. Players are walking in and out of the training area where they get work done on their bodies, heading to and from the court to get shots up, listening to music, perhaps eating a snack or taking part in small media scrums. It's quiet, and for the most part, without much action.
Walk into the Suns locker room, though, and you find players going through a set routine of stretches and movements that are laid out for them in a plan on a white board. It's all part of the program that has made the Suns' training staff legendary among NBA fans and media for their ability to keep players healthy.
Miles Plumlee briefly discussed that program with us.
theScore: I've never walked into a locker room to find the players stretching and moving along to a set list of instructions on the board. As far as you know, is this unique to the Suns?
Plumlee: As far as I know, I don’t think many teams are that strict. We get in a routine. We don’t only do it here before a game, but we wake up and do it before shootaround. It’s something we do everyday to activate certain muscles. That’s what keeps your body moving the right way, everything in line, and prevents injuries.
theScore: Based on the training work you've been put through and what you've experienced in the three seasons you've been in Phoenix, can you see how they've managed to build this reputation as a great training staff?
Plumlee: Yeah, obviously. My knees have gotten a lot better since college. I just feel the best I’ve ever felt playing basketball. And I know guys around the league say the same thing (about Phoenix). That’s why guys come here to try to extend their careers.
theScore: Is the secret as simple as making sure the players follow a strict routine of pre-basketball stretching, warmups and things like that, or is it more intense?
Plumlee: There’s a whole science and formula to it. It sounds simple. They’ve done all the thinking. It’s easy for us. You just have to stay consistent and stick with the program. They keep tabs on us. They’ll know if one hip is getting tighter one day and immediately start doing other exercises with you, even if you feel fine, before things happen. Ultimately if you do that stuff enough, you get your body moving better than it was before most of the times. It’s a lot of proactive stuff.
theScore: You mentioned them keeping tabs on you. Does the strict program ever get cumbersome or annoying?
Plumlee: Most guys, when you first start, it’s a little annoying. But then it becomes like waking up and brushing your teeth. You do it. And I know once you see the results, everyone wants to do it.
theScore: Raptors Director of Sports Science, Alex McKechnie, who is renown for keeping guys healthy himself, recently told the Toronto Star that soft tissue injuries are preventable and that he takes responsibility for them. Do you believe that, too, now that you've worked with the Suns training staff?
Plumlee: I’m not a trainer. But our trainers would probably say the same thing. That just doesn’t happen to us. And they warn us if we’re not doing our stuff before practice or a game, that that’s exactly what’s going to happen. The numbers speak for themselves. They keep guys on the court.