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PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns moved to 5-6 on the season and secured their fourth win in five games by defeating the Charlotte Hornets 101-96 on Thursday night. The victory was far from flawless, as the Suns surrendered an early 17-point advantage before regrouping to close out the game against a Hornets squad that owns the league's least efficient offense and was shorthanded.
Devin Booker paced Phoenix with 30 points, seven assists and three steals. Charlotte's Coby White tallied 21 points, while Grayson Allen contributed 14 points and six assists in his return to Phoenix.
Here are three key observations from the Suns' win over the Hornets:
Rotation Still a Work in Progress
Phoenix has yet to establish chemistry when Booker, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and Miles Bridges share the court. In this win, that four-man unit posted a minus-18 rating and began surrendering the large lead almost as soon as they re-entered in the second quarter. Conversely, the Suns' bench has excelled, prompting coach Jordan Ott to lean on Collin Gillespie (13 points, +12), Luke Kennard (eight points, +16) and Jordan Goodwin (six points, +18) down the stretch instead of Green (12 points, -16) and Bridges (11 points, six rebounds, +1), who watched from the sideline.
"It's like you're in the heat of battle, and I thought that group not only in the second half, first half had it going, the (Goodwin), Luke, Collin mix," Ott said of the late-game decision. "We knew Book and Dillon were coming back, so we had to manage that, and then on top of it we had to try to find a way to rebound against these guys. I think it was a combination of all of it. We'll continue to look at it and try to get the best groups out there at the best time. At the end of the game, you're trying everything you can just to kind of fill some holes. Obviously, we struggled offensively tonight, so it was a little bit more defensive. We'll take a look."
The most significant lineup decision centers on Green, who has struggled in his new playmaking role. Through 11 games, he owns a team-worst minus-15.3 net rating.
Booker Remains the Constant
While the Suns continue to search for answers, Booker has been a steady force. Over his last seven games, he is averaging 27.4 points, 4.9 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 39.6% from beyond the arc. He also delivered the dagger 3-pointer to put Phoenix up six with 22.9 seconds remaining.
"We got the win, but to be transparent, we're still searching. We're still finding," Booker said. "We've had parts of the game where we look really good with certain lineups and certain lineups we come in, and just can't find that flow. We get the sample size. Always say it feels better in the win, but we definitely have some things to clean up."
On maintaining his consistency, Booker added: "Just the work. Just putting in the work. Trying to lead and communicate. Even though we started off 1-5, we've ran off a few now, but still learning. Coming in with the same mindset tomorrow as if we lost the game. We still have things to clean up. We're building for something bigger than the first 10 games of the season."
Without Booker's recent excellence, Phoenix's position would be considerably more precarious.
Defensive Progress Continues
Even against the league's weakest offense, the Suns showed further signs of defensive growth. Phoenix forced 27 turnovers, converting them into 38 points, and limited Charlotte to 41.3% shooting from the field. Although the Suns were outrebounded 52-31, they attempted 12 more shots than the Hornets thanks to the turnover disparity (27 vs. 8).
"Our heat and disruption - getting back to that. The value and energy that those live-ball turnovers create for our group," Ott said. "Last couple games we didn't do that as well and wanted to get back to it, I know they were down a couple people and were turning it over at a high rate, so that was one of the keys to the game that definitely pushed it to the limits. Especially in the first half, I thought our heat and activity was really good."
Over the last five games, the Suns own the sixth-best defensive rating in the NBA at 109.0, a stark improvement from their league-worst 124.5 rating through the first six games. They also rank second in points off turnovers per game (22.2) this season.
Phoenix's defense will face a formidable challenge on Sunday night against the Los Angeles Lakers, who boast the league's top offensive rating at 121.6.