The Suns have more ways to attack. What happens to Dillon Brooks?

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,…

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Publish date : 2026-09-10 23:00:00

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