The acquisition of Miles Bridges will undoubtedly change the geometry of the Suns’ offense. He replaces Royce O’Neale in the starting lineup, a player whose primary offensive function was to catch the ball and shoot it. O’Neale averaged 2.63 seconds per touch last season, the fourth-lowest mark on the team among players who appeared in more than 50 games.
Miles Bridges will add a much-needed layer of downhill attacking, rim pressure, and versatility to the Suns’ offense. Yes, Phoenix is going to sacrifice some three-point shooting from the starting five to get there. But as we hypothesize about what this offense will ultimately look like, I can’t help but wonder what that means for Dillon Brooks.
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Brooks is coming off a career-high 20.2 points per game while taking 17.1 shots a night. A lot of that was circumstance. The Suns were consistently dealing with injuries to Jalen Green, Devin Booker, or both, and somebody had to step up and take those shots. Brooks willingly did so, and I applaud him for it. The confidence he displayed, combined with his surprising ability to consistently put up 20 points, became one of the biggest surprises of last season and even pushed him into the All-Star conversation.
The challenge with Brooks offensively is that when he gets the ball, he tends to keep it. He likes to work in isolation, using the moves he practices to create his own shot in one-on-one situations. And to his credit, he succeeded. Brooks averaged 0.98 points per possession while using 12.4% of his possessions in isolation.
What worked for Brooks last season could become something that jams up the Suns’ offense this year if it’s used too frequently.
That’s where Miles Bridges changes the equation. His ability to attack downhill gives Phoenix another way to create shots for everyone else. Penetration forces defenses to collapse, and once that happens, the floor opens up. A kickout can create a clean look from three, and if the defense recovers, the next player can attack the closeout and get downhill again. That puts defenses on skates. It forces them into scramble mode, creates rotation after rotation, and generates opportunities both from beyond the arc and at the rim as defenders try to recover.
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The expectation is that we’ll see plenty of penetration and kickouts with the addition of Bridges, and if that’s the case, that isn’t exactly a strength of Dillon Brooks. Brooks averaged 20.1 passes per game last season. More importantly, he received 37.3 passes per game, creating a 17.2-pass differential that ranked second-highest on the team. Only Devin Booker received more passes than he dished out.
Holding the ball and dribbling the air out of it probably isn’t the preferred method of attack for this offense anymore. Adjustments will need to happen, both philosophically and in execution, and Brooks may be the player asked to sacrifice the most. Jalen Green and Devin Booker both possess the ability to get downhill in different ways. Green brings elite athleticism and the ability to blow by defenders. Booker relies more on craft and technique to get to his spots.
That likely pushes Brooks into the fourth option offensively. And honestly, that’s a great thing for the Suns. Brooks has already shown that he has the confidence and ability to score when called upon. If Phoenix stays healthy, he shouldn’t need to do it with the same frequency he did last season. But when the offense needs him to step forward, he can still provide that production.
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I’d much rather have Dillon Brooks as my fourth option than some of the fourth options that exist around the Western Conference. Would you rather have Jake LaRavia? Or Max Christie? How about the career 21.9% three-point shooting of Amen Thompson? Brooks is more offensively equipped to be productive as a fourth option.
So, as we prepare for the season to begin, it becomes an interesting question to ponder. What does Dillon Brooks look like in this version of the Suns’ offense? He doesn’t need to become a different player. He needs to become a more selective version of the player he already is. If Bridges, Booker, and Green are creating more of the initial action, then Brooks can attack advantages rather than manufacture them. And attack them he will, like a well-trained Kung Fu disciple.
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