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Late Closeouts, Empty Glass: Breaking Down the NBA’s Worst Defense

The Phoenix Suns, once a defensive powerhouse, have collapsed into the NBA’s worst unit after just four games, surrendering 122 or more points in each contest. Opposing teams are shooting a staggering 43.9% from three-point range—a league-leading figure that dwarfs the second-worst mark by nearly four percentage points.

The issues run deep: late rotations on kickouts leave shooters wide open, with Devin Booker and Kevin Bridges often disengaged in the corners, while aggressive switching schemes frequently leave help defenders overmatched. The team’s defensive rebounding rate of 27.7 per game ranks last in the league, underscoring a lack of physicality and positioning that has become painfully obvious without Mark Williams and Oso Ighodaro in the lineup.

Head coach Dillon Brooks has openly called the defense “terrible,” yet the same breakdowns persist despite three days of focused practice to address them. The fanbase’s patience is wearing thin as the Suns struggle to regain their identity on that end of the floor.

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