Stephen’s Notebook, Vol. 9: Grayson’s drive, detailed defense, and a Suns rookie check-in

The Phoenix Suns have been working against injury adversity all season long.

Mark Williams still isn’t playing the backend of back-to-backs, Devin Booker just returned from a groin strain and Jalen Green has been out for the last month with his hamstring injury.

Phoenix is currently 15-12 (7th in the Western Conference), with an Offensive Rating of 115.7 (14th), a Defensive Rating of 114.3 (11th), and a non-garbage-time Net of +1.3 (15th) — all per Cleaning the Glass.

Here’s some of what caught my attention over the past week of play.

Of note: All stats below are accurate as of games entering play on 12.18.2025.

Grayson Allen’s Drive

It has been a career-best season for Grayson Allen, in multiple respects.

The Duke product is a direct example of Jordan Ott’s coaching style, ecosystem established, and offensive process being rooted in empowerment and freedom for players.

He’s also had the ball in his hands to make decisions quite often, partly due to injuries the Suns have seen, but also been because he’s been so effective with it.

His ability to put the ball on the deck adds a new layer to him and the team’s dynamic.

If you’ve been following me on Twitter for the last few seasons, you’ll know I have long tapped the sign on his drives deserving more attention. Seriously, go to my Twitter account, search “Grayson Allen drives,” and you’ll see a compilation of clips of him getting downhill from the last two seasons and some change.

His improvements with his handle have enabled him to dictate and counterpunch off his top-tier skill of shooting.

Think about it. If Allen is the one going to get a paint touch, will a defense react with help? If they do, because it is him with the ball, what shot quality or advantage does that createfor their primary creators?

His starting the blender and generating catch-and-shoot opportunities to those guys, or even better, enabling them to play to a defense that has to rotate out to them, is when the Suns offense has been its best.

The last four games he’s averaging 15.3 drives per game – equivalent of the 8th most on average in the league. He’s also compiled four of his six highest drive total games of the season in this window.

Let’s talk about how the Suns are creating on-ball opportunities for Allen to get downhill, plus more.

SunsDefense Leads the Dance

The Phoenix Suns are presently 4th in switch rate, switching 31.1% of the pick-and-roll’s they defend, and bottom third in blitz rate, sending doubles in pick-and-roll at the 11th-lowest frequency.

Ott and his staff have made it clear they don’t desire to concede rotations to opponents by way of committing two defenders to one offensive player on the perimeter – not outright at least.

See my last Notebook to watch in detail what it looks like, if ever, when they do send a double team on the perimeter and what the process looks like there.

Nonetheless, with Collin Gillespie growing into his own and playing more minutes, while the Suns defense maintains a disruptive status, opponents are working to find what they see as an advantage – oftentimes manipulating the game via screens and actions to bring Gillespie to their best handlers.

Some teams call it pigeon hunting, I call it playing “Where’s Waldo,” but in general, it’s mismatch hunting. I’ll take this moment to note that there are varying reasons teams go to targeting defenders – to attack a weaker defender, to attack a smaller defender, to create a reaction on the periphery that creates an overreaction on-ball into advantage off it, or to simply eat away at the legs of an important opposing player on the defensive end (which often also results in fouls called).

In the case of Gillsepie, it’s the attack on a smaller defender portion. He’s by no means a bad defender, in fact he only lacks size when closer to the paint.

That in mind and knowing he can “guard his yard” at points of attack, Ott and company have responded with not doubling outright and not going with the faulty “show and recover” coverage that lends itself to an offense being conceded a rotation to attack.

Guards like Darius Garland (with Ott in Cleveland), Trae Young, Mike Conley, Ja Morant, Jalen Green (in Houston), Jalen Brunson, Tyus Jones (with the Suns), are why I posed the question to the process Ott and company evolved to last season with Garland, and what went into their decision with Gillespie (which will be tested with Green in time).

Here is my aforementioned interaction with Ott. Pay close attention to what he notes in detailing the why in their process to switch and show in gaps, rather than show and recover.

The affirming “we’re switching right now because Collin can guard,” point to close wasn’t just coach speak.

Of 152 players who’ve been the screener’s defender in pick and roll, Gillespie’s 0.86 points allowed per chance ranks 25th – really good. A step further, he’s switched 57.5% of those, and the Suns stillconcede less than a point per chance – at 0.96.

I had the chance to speak with Collin about this a week or so after the conversation with Ott.

I also spoke with both about, in their pick and roll coverages, the peel switches they lean into to flatten ball handlers out.

These layers and their execution in them are why their defense has been the 2nd-most disruptive in opponents’ turnover percentage.

They’re also top-five in other categories like steals (1st) and deflections (4th).

Rookie check-in

Rookies Khaman Maluach and Rasheer Fleming have been taking care of business the last three games down on the G-League level.

Maluach is averaging 21.3 PPG, 66.7 FG%, 15.7 RPG, 3 BPG, and just 1.3 fouls. He’s doing a great job finding impact defensively, while not fouling, and adding value offensively with three-point shots (four makes in this stretch) and growing as a screener.

There’s still work to be done on the defensive end in getting up the level of screens with consistent activity, and quick/sharp decisions with the ball, but he’s growing into play on this level.

Fleming is at 20.3 PPG, 52.3 FG%, 3.3 3PM, 7.7 RPG, and 2.3 SPG.

He fouled out in their most recent game played, and is still working on his 2-point offense. However, the defense and activity remain top-notch, while his corner three-point shooting has clearly turned a corner in confidence and efficiency.

Of Note:

• The Suns are 4th in second-chance possessions (357).
• The Suns are also T-11 in points off second-chances (409).
• Phoenix is 5th in percentage of possessions picking up in the backcourt (23.2%).
• It takes Suns opponents 6.1 seconds to get to their first action offensively (3rd longest in the NBA).