Inside the Suns’ Passing Game: A Closer Look at Ball Movement, Turnovers, and Team Identity
The Phoenix Suns have been one of the more intriguing teams to watch this season - not just because of their star power, but because of how they play. Their offense isn’t built on speed or individual brilliance alone.
It’s built on movement. A lot of it.
Let’s start with the numbers. The Suns are averaging around 570 passes per game - a figure that puts them near the top of the league in terms of ball movement.
That’s not just a team swinging the ball around the perimeter for show. That’s a commitment to sharing the rock.
For context, the Thunder average 494 passes per game, and the Cavaliers lead the league with 644. So Phoenix is clearly in the upper tier.
When you break it down further, that’s about 5.7 passes per possession - meaning nearly six passes every time down the court. That’s not necessarily a sign of tempo, but it does tell us something about intent. This is a team that wants to move the ball, even with a high-usage star like Devin Booker running the show.
Booker remains the team’s primary playmaker, posting a 30.1% assist rate and a 35% ball dominance figure. Collin Gillespie is the secondary creator, with a 23.8% assist rate and 31% ball dominance.
Neither of those numbers scream “heliocentric offense.” Instead, they reflect a more democratic, team-oriented passing approach - a system that relies on spacing, reads, and timing rather than just individual shot creation.
And yet, for all that passing, the Suns aren’t playing fast. They average about 100 possessions per game, which ranks 22nd in pace.
That’s slow by today’s NBA standards. So yes, they move the ball a lot - but they do it deliberately, in the half court, with structure.
This isn’t the run-and-gun Suns of the Steve Nash era. This is a different kind of machine.
When you look at how they touch the ball, the picture becomes even clearer. Phoenix averages 3.05 seconds and 2.37 dribbles per touch - middle of the pack in both categories.
That tells us they’re not rushing. They’re reading.
They’re probing. They’re trying to manipulate the defense, not just beat it with speed.
Their initiation zones back that up. They rarely go to the post (24th in post-up frequency), use the elbows moderately (22nd), and focus more on paint touches (15th).
The goal? Collapse the defense, kick it out, and generate open looks from deep.
It’s a perimeter-oriented, half-court offense designed to create quality threes - and it aligns perfectly with their slower pace.
So what are the results of all this ball movement?
The Suns are generating 25 assists per game on 45.7 potential assists, along with 65.7 points created and 3.8 secondary assists. Their assist-to-pass percentage sits at 8.9%, which is solid but not elite. That number tells us they’re not always turning passes into immediate buckets - they’re playing the long game, building possessions with patience and structure.
But where there’s passing, there are also turnovers - and Phoenix has had its share. Through 594 turnovers this season (excluding offensive fouls and violations), the breakdown starts with the usual suspects.
Devin Booker leads the team with 125 turnovers, 64 of them coming on bad passes. Collin Gillespie is next with 80, followed by Royce O’Neale at 68.
But raw turnover totals only tell part of the story. Turnover rate (TOV%) - the percentage of a player’s possessions that end in a turnover - gives us a better sense of efficiency.
Oso Ighodaro tops the team with a 21.7% turnover rate, which is high, especially given his 12% usage. That means more than one in five of his possessions ends in a turnover - not ideal, but understandable for a second-year player adjusting to a bigger role. Ryan Dunn and O’Neale are around 15%, while Booker and Gillespie are impressively clean at around 13%.
That’s a big deal for Booker. He’s evolving into a reliable primary creator, especially in the half court.
In fact, only six players in the league this season have logged 1,000+ minutes with at least 30% assist rate, 30% usage, and under 15% turnover rate: Booker, Luka Dončić, James Harden, Cade Cunningham, LaMelo Ball, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. That’s elite company.
But to really understand the Suns’ offense, you have to zoom out. This isn’t about one game or one player. It’s about recognizing patterns - spotting where the system breaks down, and when.
Take transition, for example. That’s where the Suns are most vulnerable.
They turn the ball over on 13.1% of their 18.8 transition possessions per game - a high frequency, and a clear pain point. It’s often the result of rushing or trying to force something that isn’t there.
In other words, when they stray from their structured identity, the mistakes pile up.
Next up is the pick-and-roll, specifically with the ball handler. They turn it over 13% of the time on 21.8 possessions per game. That’s not terrible - they rank 4th in the league in terms of turnover frequency in that action - but the sheer volume means those mistakes add up.
On the flip side, isolation and post-ups are relatively clean. Isolation results in a 9.9% turnover rate on 6.9 possessions per game, while post-ups are even lower at 8.2% on 3.4 possessions. Those plays are rare in Phoenix’s system, but when they do go to them, they’re under control.
The roll man in pick-and-roll actions is also fairly secure, with a 9.8% turnover rate on 5.4 possessions. Dribble handoffs (DHO) are a bit shakier at 11.4% on 5 possessions per game - not terrible, but an area that could be tightened up.
All of this points to a clear identity: the Suns are a methodical, half-court team that thrives on structure and ball movement. They’re not chaotic.
They’re not overly reliant on isolation. They’re trying to win with patience, spacing, and team execution.
Their turnovers don’t come from recklessness - they come from context. When the game speeds up, or when primary creators are under heavy pressure, the system gets strained. That’s when the cracks show.
But if you understand where and why those cracks appear, you’re one step closer to understanding this Suns team. And maybe, just maybe, one step closer to seeing how far this deliberate, pass-happy offense can go.