PHOENIX -- The Suns know the fourth quarter has to look different.
Phoenix finished last in the NBA in points per game in the fourth quarter during the 2025-26 season, a number that put a spotlight on a team that often couldn’t find enough clean offense when games tightened up. Injuries were a major reason the group never settled into a reliable closing unit, but the problems went beyond availability. Too often, the Suns went cold late, and the offense had a hard time working around Devin Booker’s gravity while the team also ranked 29th in turnovers in the final period.
For coach Jordan Ott, entering his second season, the challenge is clear: find a late-game formula that actually holds up.
One possible answer is to lean into the group’s most talented scorers and let them build chemistry in the moments that matter most. A closing five of Devin Booker, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Miles Bridges and Oso Ighodaro gives Phoenix a chance to keep its new-look core together in pressure situations, assuming the team can finally stay mostly healthy outside of Mark Williams, who was already out for an extended stretch with a torn labrum.
Ighodaro may be especially important in that setup. He was a useful connector in late-game possessions and ended up playing over Williams several times down the stretch last season. That kind of balance could help unlock how Booker, Green, Brooks and Bridges fit together when the Suns need a bucket and the floor gets smaller.
There’s still an obvious question hanging over that group: Booker, Green and Brooks didn’t get many reps together last season because of injuries. If they can’t quickly figure out how to play off one another, Phoenix could decide to go another way when it comes to who shares the floor with Booker in the closing minutes.
The Suns also have another path they can take, and it leans smaller and faster.
A lineup such as Collin Gillespie, Devin Booker, Jordan Goodwin, Dillon Brooks and Miles Bridges gives Phoenix more speed and more defensive switchability late in games. That approach is popular around the league when possessions get heavy and every stop matters, and the Suns should be able to use it more after their offseason additions. Bridges can play bigger than his size, and Rasheer Fleming, who is expected to take on a much larger role, could also be used at the 5 in those situations.
That flexibility matters because Phoenix has built enough bench depth to mix and match depending on what the game demands. Goodwin, Fleming, Ryan Dunn and Haywood Highsmith give the Suns defensive options, while Gillespie, Luke Kennard and Pat Spencer provide shooting. That opens the door to multiple versions of a small-ball closing group.
Another possibility includes Collin Gillespie, Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks, Miles Bridges and Oso Ighodaro, and Gillespie’s case is hard to ignore. He was one of the Suns’ most reliable late-game performers and shot 45% from 3-point range in the fourth quarter over the course of the season.
Ott is expected to find ways to get Gillespie on the floor in the fourth quarter whenever the shot is falling, and he could be the player who bumps any of Green, Brooks or Bridges depending on the night. If he doesn’t have to spend most of the season filling in as a starter again, Gillespie could even push his way into the Sixth Man of the Year conversation. His fourth-quarter work may wind up being one of the biggest reasons why.
In Other News...
Suns Suddenly Face A Center Decision They May Not Escape
Mark Williams injury has quickly turned a preseason concern into a real roster issue for the Suns, whose center depth was already thin enough to draw attention. With limited financial flexibility and a frontcourt that now leans on Khaman Maluach, Oso Ighodaro and CJ Huntley, Phoenix is suddenly looking at a position group that could be tested far earlier than it wanted.
The next move is not obvious, and that is what makes this worth watching. The Suns are considering whether to add a free agent center, but they may also give the group some runway and revisit the market in January after seeing more from their young bigs and getting a better read on the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Suddenly Had A Frontcourt Problem They Couldnt Ignore
A frontcourt injury forced the Suns to move quickly, and the answer is a familiar name to people who have followed the organizations depth-chasing for a while. Phoenix is signing center Duop Reath after Mark Williams went down with a shoulder injury, giving the team another big body to help stabilize the rotation while it sorts through the early-season fallout. Reath, who spent time overseas before making his NBA debut with Portland in the 2023-24 season, gives the Suns an experienced option at a position that suddenly needed one.
For Phoenix, the timing matters as much as the addition itself. The Suns are counting on Khaman Maluach and Oso Ighodaro to carry most of the center minutes, but injuries can change that picture fast, especially when a team is already trying to build out its interior depth. Reaths arrival at least keeps the Suns from having to lean too heavily on the same two names, and it raises the next question the team will have to answer as the frontcourt picture settles: how much more of the season will it need to cover there, and by whom? [Read more 🡒]
Suns Just Sent Another Message About Their Crowded Backcourt
The Suns have continued trimming the edges of their roster with training camp still taking shape, and the latest move keeps the focus on a backcourt that already looks crowded. Jordan Schakel, a guard with limited NBA experience, was waived from his Exhibit 10 contract after spending time in the G League and overseas, a familiar sort of transaction for a team trying to sort out its guard depth and developmental pipeline.
Schakels next stop is expected to be the Valley Suns for the upcoming season, which fits the pattern Phoenix has leaned on for players who still have something to prove in its system. For a team balancing immediate rotation concerns with long-term depth, these decisions can be easy to miss, but they often say plenty about where the organization sees the most competition and where it wants to keep a close eye on players closest to the next call-up. [Read more 🡒]