Suns Hit the Panic Button With a Chaotic New Starting Lineup

The Phoenix Suns are rolling out a starting five that looks like it was drafted by a random number generator. According to Underdog NBA, Phoenix will start Devin Booker, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Mikal Bridges, and Oso Ighodaro on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers.

This is the kind of lineup you throw at the wall when the panic button is already jammed. Putting Booker, Green, and Brooks on the floor at the exact same time is certainly a choice. It is a ton of theoretical firepower, but it also guarantees at least three guys are going to be actively demanding the basketball while the shot clock bleeds out.

You can understand why Phoenix is getting desperate. The Suns are coming off a brutal 122-96 beatdown at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday. When you get run off your own floor by 26 points, you have to change something.

But the offensive fit between Booker and Green has been a glaring issue all season. Throwing them out there with Brooks—who is thankfully healthy after that broken hand derailed his campaign last year—feels like trying to put out a grease fire with a bucket of gasoline. You also have Bridges trying to glue the perimeter defense together while Ighodaro holds on for dear life in the paint.

For anyone looking at the prop markets, this rotation is a complete nightmare to project. Booker is always going to get his touches, but figuring out who gets the secondary looks between Green and Brooks is a total coin flip. The spacing alone is going to make half of their offensive possessions look like a rugby scrum.

The Suns host the Clippers on Tuesday night, and we are about to find out if this chaotic experiment actually works. If it fails again, Phoenix might need to start looking at the trade market before this roster completely combusts.