The Suns may not be viewed as one of the upper echelon teams in the NBA like the Warriors and Cavaliers. However, there is one specific area they are hoping to be among the best at, team chemistry.
Phoenix had just 23 wins a season ago. They obviously want to improve on that this season and research done by UC Berkeley professor Dacher Keltner showed teams that displayed camaraderie and togetherness were more successful.
“Controlling for how much money they’re making, the expectations that they would do well during that season, how well they we’re doing in that game,” Keltner said via the Suns website. “Not only did they win more games but there’s really nice basketball statistics of how selfless the play is.”
Armed with that knowledge, Suns head coach Earl Watson says the team is tracking high fives.
“We have a high-five stat,” Watson said. “I’m being honest with you. This is true. So we want to keep track of how many high-fives we get per game to each other.”
Watson took over for Jeff Hornacek, who was fired last season. Phoenix went 9-24 with Watson in charge. Heading into his first full season as head coach, Watson is looking to put his stamp on the team, and that clearly includes an emphasis on team chemistry.
