Why Is Nobody Talking About the Phoenix Suns?? | HHT 67
On the 67th episode of Hot Hand Theory, Geoff and XJ break down how Jordan Ott, Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks, Grayson Allen, and the Phoenix Suns are outsmarting the NBA—and why their 5-game win streak isn’t luck; it’s brilliant roster construction meeting elite coaching.
The duo dives into the film and data to show how the Suns are winning by exploiting what modern defenses expect: passing BEFORE defenses rotate, generating the most wide-open threes in the NBA, and building a Moneyball roster of undervalued elite shooters and role players. While the rest of the NBA hunts rim pressure, Phoenix catches defenses leaning—and it’s working.
We explore why Jordan Ott’s early passing system is breaking modern defenses, how the Suns assembled a roster of criminally undervalued players (Royce O’Neal, Grayson Allen, Mark Williams, Dillon Brooks), and why this team leads the league in spot-up efficiency.
The Suns are on a 5-game win streak with strong metrics on both ends, and this isn’t just a hot start; it’s validation of an unconventional philosophy. We break down what it means for Phoenix’s identity, why their front office deserves credit for Moneyball-style roster building, and how Devin Booker and Jalen Green’s synergy could make them the West’s most dangerous duo.
We cover:
🔹 Why the Suns are winning by outsmarting defenses: early passing, wide-open threes, and perfect spacing
🔹 Jordan Ott’s system: catching defenses pre-rotating and exploiting the modern NBA’s biggest weakness
🔹 The Moneyball roster: Royce O’Neal, Grayson Allen, Mark Williams, Dillon Brooks (all undervalued)
🔹 Why the Suns lead the NBA in wide-open threes and spot-up efficiency
🔹 Why Jalen Green could be the perfect missing piece: elite rim pressure they’re lacking
🔹 What makes this roster construction genius: undervalued market inefficiencies
🔹 Can other teams copy this system, or is it Phoenix-specific?
💬 Let us know in the comments: Are the Suns the most underrated team in the NBA? And how far can this roster go?
If you value strategic analysis over hot takes and want NBA breakdown that explains HOW teams win, not just that they won, subscribe and catch every episode.
#PhoenixSuns #Suns #DevinBooker #JordanOtt #HotHandTheory #NBAPodcast #NBAAnalysis #SunsBasketball #WesternConference #NBASeason #NBA #GraysonAllen #RoyceONeale #JalenGreen #MarkWilliams #Moneyball
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Timestamps:
0:00 | Preview
1:02 | Intro: Phoenix is being slept on
3:30 | Jordan Ott is maximizing this roster
6:55 | Moneyball in the NBA?
10:45 | The Suns are launching 3’s without rim pressure
14:50 | Can they sustain this without constant rim pressure?
17:05 | Jalen Green is a key piece to the puzzle
24:30 | The Suns’ lightning-fast 180
28:00 | Devin Booker can still play better
30:45 | Please Comment & SUBSCRIBE
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42 Comments
Suns fan for 4 decades. They aren’t contenders, but they are far better than I thought they would be, and they don’t even have their #2 scorer on the court yet.
The most exciting bit is that after years of being a team that wilts when playing a hard nosed physical team they are now a hard nosed team that annoys everyone they play. Fun to watch.
Who tf is he calling the Oakland A’s ?
suns have been putting the belt to the a$$ on teams lately
15:44 That’s why Jalen is actually a perfect fit for them next to Book on the court. KD and Beal play like book, and it didn’t work. Jalen goes to the rack a lot, which makes me believe he’ll be great for them.
There are a multitude of things as to why this team is as decent as they are. First, it definitely starts with Ott. Second, they've started to build the correct culture for they players that they have. Defense is something this team has lacked for the last 3 or so years. Now, under the guidance of Ott, they are playing in a system that all the players have bought into which focuses on defense, and playing fast on the offensive side. Add to that, they have Brooks who is an absolute beast on defense, who is helping other players on the team to toughen up, and play hard focused defense. Good defense leads to more offensive opportunities via stops, steals, blocks, rebounds, etc, etc. Also, with players like Booker, Green, Brooks, Allen, they have the ability to use a lot of downhill gravity to be able to kick the ball out to players that have wide open shots. I could go on and on with the things I see, but as it is, I like what I see. Do I think they will win a chip, or even make the playoffs, that is yet to be seen. I'm going to just watch this team to see if they continue to build on what Ott has them doing, how much more the team chemistry builds, and how much the rookies grow. I will say that this team is soooooo damn fun to watch compared to the KD/Beal years….
Gil – Less – Pee
Book is great at one move and decision. Playing fast is how book scored 70. Now with a running mate with green, we will make a playoff run by just being better at basketball
Thanks for actually talking about this team, I feel like a lot of people are ignoring it. You guys are awesome.
Thank the Lord the Big3 is over and done with
I wonder if there is a difference in rim pressure from the Suns in this winning streak compared to their 1st 5 games. I think Book and Allen have actually increased their rim attempts over these games.
Ott is a savant
Really enjoyed your approach to discussing basketball data and the early success of this years Suns team. Very few of the PHX sports pods (only 1 really) understand basketball metrics to the degree that y’all do, so it was a great listen. Thanks for the content and covering this exciting, but understandably slept on team!
To your point about making the first pass fast check out the amount of open threes they are generating per game it’s 🥜
Excellent analysis to focus on the unheralded Suns. Though, y'all have some of the same tendencies of other analysts to overuse analytics. For example, you state data that shows the Suns don't score at the basket much. However, they do move to the basket a lot in order to get the kick-outs open. These are open shot attempts, very few real contested. They do this because, as you said, teams pack the interior and then rotate out to guard the perimeter. We will see once teams start guarding the Suns outside, Suns will drive to the basket more. Another things analytics fail to do is capture the rhythm a team develops amongst the players who have very similar skill sets. The Suns don't just stand and pass, they actually move constantly while passing, setting multiple screens that not only open up shooters but open passing lanes. One thing I have noticed is how well Ott and his coaches make adjustments as the game progresses. This will be a fun team to watch for sure.
Thank you for the great video!
The ball movement and offense that Ott has installed is the key ingredient to how well the team is shooting. The players have mentioned that everyone touches the ball and that gives the ball energy. I see that energy as a rhythm that the team gets in. They play fast and together. Book has been the most efficient I've seen him in a while and doesn't force things like he did a lot last year. Brooks has given this team an edge they've needed for a long time and Jalen Green is the wildcard that can make this team dangerous. His speed will put that much more rim pressure and open up the offense that much more. Although I've noticed over the past few games that the team has been driving the ball more. Teams are starting to try to run us off the 3 point line so I expect the shot chart to change a bit. The key to it all is joy. The players, coaches and entire staff love bball and it shows. This year is infinitely more fun to be a Suns fan than the past couple.
I'm a life long Sun's fan.
We gutted our team to get Kevin Durant. We became boring isolation ball. He was scoring and nothing else.
Now we have an identity, scrappyness and chip on our shoulders. I'd take this team anytime over last years team. No matter wins or losses.
In your honest opinion fully healthy what are the suns missing to be a contending team? The team that made the finals a few years back was projected to be a 7th seed team before the season with cp3 and we obviously did better.
This Suns has the OKC blueprint. Book SGA, JG Jdub, Brooks Dort, Williams Chet, Dunn Wallace, and so on. Very intriguing team.
Colin Gillespie is quick and posted the 5th fastest shuttle run, a 10.95 Lane Agility (PGs are 11.1) . That's athleticism just not a leaping athlete, he has really good endurance is quicker than most people on the court which is all you need for a point guard.
Life long suns fan here, and I agree with what yall said about "vibes" or to quote the organization "alignment" being the x factor this season.
Somehow this is a team that looked doa, that through complimentary talent and just raw give-a-fu*k is exceeding all expectations early.
No matter how this season ends, it's going to be a much better journey getting there then the last two seasons were. Addition by subtraction.
The problem for the Suns the past two seasons has been their lack of athleticism. It was just a bunch of old dudes and it showed on court. The clippers now have that problem. Suns have gone back to being athletic. But what i really like about this team is it is willing to fight, hustle, and not give up. Also, Suns in the Booker era have always been underrated. Booker never gets his love except from Suns fans.
We’re almost certainly not winning a championship…but you’re saying there’s a chance
This team is fun to watch couldn't say that the last 2 seasons
Keep in mind they are doing this without jalen green. He will get to the rim for the suns
I think you can look at perimeter heavy attacks as high risk, high reward. Look at the warriors last dynasty as a good example. Yes you can have bad shooting games that snowball into getting blown out, but you’ll have something that virtually cannot be stopped. Especially over a 7 game series, but you’ll have to do it right. Kerr’s system is constantly moving, with off ball screens, that lead to another off ball screen to set up an open look. The suns found an interesting way to get open looks. Although Booker doesn’t get to the rim at will, the fact of the matter is he doesn’t have to. The offence the Suns employ uses the three to set up the mid range and paint, not vice versa. The beauty of being an elite 3 point shooting team is that your comeback potential is at its highest every game. That wears on opponents in a 7 game series.
I have started following Phoenix this year with the arrival of Mark Williams, who I have loosely followed since he was a year or two behind my kids in elementary school. People hardly say anything about him but his health, but I think that is a completely wrong take. Obviously, the NBA is a rough workplace and any player can be injured at any time, but Mark is not an “oft-injured” player. He has had a couple of injuries, one of which had a very long recovery (although the Hornets were tanking, so they may have been happy to let him rest). But I would argue that his most peculiar trait is his ability to be the most improved player everywhere he goes, from high school to Duke to the Hornets until his back injury. I think his potential is enormous, especially when as chemistry develops between him and the rest of the team. When it was working at Charlotte, it seemed like all they had to do was toss the ball up within three feet of the basket and Mark was going to grab it and put it through. It will be great to see that kind of rapport develop in Phoenix!
It will be interesting to see how they do in the tough games they have coming up, I think the rockets might blow them out because of the size difference, but at the same time the suns play much faster and haven’t had that many turnovers while Royce and Allen are showing 44% from 3 so it will be an interesting outcome of completely opposite play styles
Best in-depth analysis. Great research and articulation. 👍
Suns up baby! Let's go!!! They're fun to watch after a horrible 3 years with boring ass Durant.
I think Dillon Brooks brings a presence that the Suns have been lacking since they lost Chris Paul
I think it's way too early to determine how good they are. Yes they have a 5 win streak but it's all with teams with loosing records.
Let's calm down a bit, Let's see how they do against good teams.
Shazam!
Really great analysis; equal to or better than what we get here from the local sports hosts here in The Valley ☄️☄️☄️
Gill es pee Gillespie 😂
Collin Gissepie😎
Collin Gillespie is said exactly how it is spelled but isn’t not common spelling lol. You say it as (GILL – ES – P)
Dunn Gillespie O’Neal Goodwin Richardson all okay to fit what coach wants and I hope they all start to get better. The first five games they weren’t doing so well but I’ve noticed obviously they’ve been doing better so I give them a decent grade just for doing what they’re supposed to pass the ball moving it around I like that I think Williams reminds me of Amari Stoudemire. I think he could even average 18 points but with Jalen Green and Devon Booker grey and Grayson Allen it won’t be easy. I think some night he can definitely hit 20s which will get him at least five points average and he is definitely a threat. I think we still need one more piece someone like a Brooks but taller like a 6’11 someone that can compete with William both big guys can have fun against their teams as well as our supporting cast. I did see us going deep in the playoffs.
Great breakdown guys! And yeah bro. I can not say Collin’s name either. That’s exactly what I told my friend. I’m physically unable to pronounce his name haha! So I feel ya there
Love the conversation and highlight on the Suns. Only thing I disagree with is that Book hasn’t been that good thus far this year. Started a bit rough but has been elite the last 5-6. Truly hitting his peak.
got a sub in me. great analytics fellas. Valley Up. Go Suns!☀️
Awesome breakdown!!
Love the depth of the analysis guys, this really scratched my itch as a Suns fan 😅 gonna be a fun season