Phoenix Suns 2013-14 Player Grades: P.J. Tucker

Weaknesses:

Tucker’s heart and attitude gives the Suns a jolt of energy, but it can also be a detriment to the team at times. Tucker tied for sixth in the league with 12 technical fouls and had one ejection as well. His disruptive nature on the defensive end directly feeds into that competitive fire and never-back-down mentality that often gets him into trouble with the officiating crew. For a guy who’s called upon to help his team defensively, giving opponents free points from the line on bad fouls or techs kind of defeats that purpose.

However, this is a small quibble compared to the area where most of Tucker’s deficiencies as a player – the offensive end – become clear. He emerged as a very deadly corner three-point specialist (most on this in a bit), but he only shot 45 percent on two-point shots and a look at his shot chart shows he had a lot of trouble finishing anywhere near the basket. He connected on just 48.7 percent of his shots at the rim, a mark below the league average. It’s not like Tucker doesn’t have the strength to finish at the rim; he just doesn’t quite have the touch or the size at 6’5″.

Tucker also has a bad habit of getting tunnel vision on fast breaks. Too many times this season, the Suns would have an advantage in transition and instead of giving up the ball to a wide open teammate on the wing or trailing the play, Tucker would stick his head down and try to bulldoze his way to the rim, often sacrificing would-be layups for shots at the foul line or a miss on a contested attempt. For a guy who’s ineffective at converting at the basket, Tucker certainly would have done well to look for the open man on the break more often.