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after the phoenix suns traded chris paul for bradley beal last year, they didn't bother retaining their only other veteran point guard. instead, they traded cameron payne to the san antonio spurs for a salary cut. the idea is that beal or devin booker, both of whom are natural scorers, can be the nominal point guard and run the offense.

in fact, booker, beal and kevin durant lead the team in time of possession, with booker averaging a career-high 6.2 minutes per game, but his efficiency has improved from the previous season. however, durant's true shooting percentage is the lowest in the past 12 seasons (58.1%).

as a team, the suns rank 10th offensively, scoring 116.8 points per 100 possessions. that's an improvement from the season before, but certainly disappointing considering the firepower of their three stars and a shooter who leads the league in 3-point percentage.

on another big numerical note, the suns rank 25th in the league in turnover rate (28th in turnover margin) and 29th in three-point attempts compared to mid-range attempts. both of these points have to do with the lack of a true point guard.

new head coach mike budenholzer said tyus jones will be the suns' starting point guard. jones has led the league in assist-to-turnover ratio in each of the past six seasons. last year's 7.35 was the highest among players with at least 200 assists in the 47 seasons with a turnover record.

putting jones (and to a lesser extent monte morris) in charge of the offense reduces the suns' turnovers and gives them more opportunities to get directly to the basket. this would also give beal, booker and durant more catch-and-shoot opportunities. when more shots come from the catch, more shots also come from beyond the arc.

the argument against the suns (and the rest of the west) starts with the west's depth. they barely escaped the playoffs last season, and things won't be much better this year, with durant turning 36 on opening night.

however, with better data to support it, the suns can become a better team. those better numbers start with a true point guard.