Phoenix Suns: Encouraging Signs From The Bench
Isaiah Thomas
2013-14 Stat Line: 24.4 MPG, 16.9 PPG, 4.4 APG, 2.0 RPG, 0.7 SPG, 47.6 FG%, 35.5 3P%
You’d think an addition like Isaiah Thomas would have nothing but a positive impact on the Suns’ backcourt, especially since I.T. is currently leading the team in scoring and is second in assists behind Bledsoe. He’s shooting a career-best 47.6 percent from the field and he looks thoroughly happy playing on a good team for once. It’s a win-win for both parties, right?
Maybe. Though Thomas has been exceptional off the bench, you can tell this three-headed hydra is still trying not to step over each other’s toes at times. So far it’s led to night-and-day inconsistency from Eric Bledsoe and a very shaky start to the season for Goran Dragic. That’s not Thomas’ problem of course; how could anyone blame him for the Dragon and Bledsoe struggling to adjust to another point guard entering the fold?
But no matter who’s to blame, the fact still remains that the Suns will only go as far as that backcourt is willing to carry them. Phoenix’s reliance on the Morris twins through the first seven games has produced mixed results and though expectations may have been too high entering the season, it’s fairly evident the Suns are still trying to figure things out. The fact that Phoenix has a 4-3 record despite consistently failing the “eye test” speaks volumes about the potential of this team.
I.T. does a lot of things right. He gets to the line a lot for a guy listed at 5’9″ (14 free throw attempts against the Warriors), he’s a very good distributor off the bench and like Green, he’s capable of heating up in a hurry. Jamal Crawford is putting up big numbers for the Los Angeles Clippers, but Thomas remains a favorite for that Sixth Man of the Year award.
However, if Dragic and Bledsoe continue to have problems adapting, it’s only a matter of time before Thomas realizes he has better numbers in a no-pressure situation and starts wanting a starting job. To be fair, Dragic (20.5 PPG, 3.5 APG, 2.5 SPG, 55.6 FG% in his last two games) and Bledsoe (18.3 PPG, 5.0 APG, 3.3 RPG, 54 FG% in his last three games) are starting to come around, but we’ve yet to see these three show up on the same night.
Can we expect such inconsistency throughout the year? Is the point of having three point guards that two are feeling it and will make up for the third? Or should the Suns be expecting a little more consistency from their hydra? It’s a learning process, but Thomas has been sensational and as long as Dragic and Bledsoe continue trending in the right direction, the Suns should start passing the eye test a little more consistently.