After winning seven of their first eight games this season, the Phoenix Suns have shown promise for the first time since they formed the Big Three. Yet, the general belief is that for coach Mike Budenholzer's team to keep winning, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker need to perform at an exceptionally high rate every night.
Gilbert Arenas, on the other hand, believes Phoenix has enough talent on its roster to allow its top two players to take a night off in some games.
Suns should rely more on Beal
Through eight games in the 2024-25 season, "The Slim Reaper" leads the Suns in scoring with 28.8 points per game, with "D-Book" close behind, averaging 24.4 points. In their seven wins, KD or Booker has been their offensive catalyst.
However, Arenas stressed that the Suns should not exhaust their two best players since the season just started. They should also focus on Bradley Beal carrying the scoring load.
Speaking on his podcast, "Gil" emphasized the luxury the Suns have with Beal and other role players.
"The fact that they're together, you can expect they can be dominant. All three of them don't need to be dominant at the same time to win games," Arenas said. "They can be one and half, two and half... that's how much talent they have that if Kevin Durant ain't carrying it, Booker can carry it. If Booker can't carry it, we already know Beal led the league in scoring before. They got three guys who can do the same job if need be."
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Phoenix needs him to step up
While Arenas may be optimistic about Florida's offensive prowess, the latter's recent performances indicate that he is not yet ready to shoulder the load consistently. Beal already missed two games and scored only 7 points in a recent win against the Miami Heat. Beal currently is averaging just 15.5 points per game which is lower than expected for a former All-Star.
If Durant and Booker are to follow Arenas' advice and dial back their intensity, they need Beal to step up. If he can increase his scoring, he will give everybody on the Suns team more opportunities, command more attention from the defense, and provide easier buckets for his teammates. Even the scoring machines like KD and Book like to get the easy one, and Bradley can make that happen.
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