Key storylines: Point guard Tyus Jones should change the equation in Phoenix

Former Wizards guard Tyus Jones will be tasked with getting the Suns offense on track in 2024-25.

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We’re counting down 24 key storylines for the 2024-25 NBA season. Our senior analysts will analyze a new topic each day as we help you prepare for opening night on October 22nd.

Here’s the plot No. 20:

A real point guard in Phoenix? What impact will Tyus Jones have on the Suns?

After the Phoenix Suns traded Chris Paul for Bradley Beal last year, they didn’t bother keeping their only other veteran point guard. Instead, they traded Cameron Payne to San Antonio as part of a salary cut. The idea was that Beal or Devin Booker, both natural scorers, could be the nominal point guard and make plays.

In fact, Booker, Beal and Kevin Durant led the team in time of possession, with Booker’s 6.2 minutes per game a career-high. Booker saw a jump in performance compared to last season, but Durant posted his lowest true shooting percentage (58.1%) in the last 12 seasons.

As a team, the Suns ranked 10th offensively, scoring 116.8 points per 100 possessions. While that was an improvement over the previous season, it was certainly a disappointment given the firepower of their three stars and the added presence of the league’s best 3-point shooter.

A big problem was the math: The Suns ranked 25th in turnover rate (28th in turnover differential) and 29th in their ratio of 3-point attempts to midrange attempts. Both of these may be due to the lack of a true point guard.

According to new coach Mike Budenholzer, coming into play is Tyus Jones, who will be the Suns’ starting point guard. Jones has been the leader in assist/turnover ratio in each of the last six seasons, with last year’s figure of 7.35 being the highest for a player who had at least 200 total assists in the 47 seasons for which turnovers were tracked.

If Jones (and to a lesser extent Monte Morris) takes over the offense, the Suns’ turnovers will decrease and they will have more shots at the basket. This also allows Beal, Booker and Durant to shoot more from the catch. If a greater percentage of shots come from the catcher, a greater percentage will come from beyond the arc.

The case against the Suns (and every other team in the West) starts with how deep the conference is. Last season they narrowly missed the play-in tournament, this year it won’t be much easier and Durant will be 36 years old on opening night.

But with better math, the Suns can be a better team. That better math starts with a true point guard.

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John Schuhmann is a senior statistical analyst for NBA.com. You can email him here, his archive can be found here and Follow him on X.

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