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Phoenix Suns: Reggie Bullock Getting A Look Down Stretch

By Phil Watson

April 2, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Phoenix Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek (right) instructs guard Reggie Bullock (25) against the Golden State Warriors during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
April 2, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Phoenix Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek (right) instructs guard Reggie Bullock (25) against the Golden State Warriors during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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With the Phoenix Suns’ playoff hopes all but gone thanks to five straight losses that have dragged the team to the .500 mark with just six games remaining, a player who had been buried deep at the end of Jeff Hornacek’s bench has gotten some significant playing time in the last couple of games.

The Suns acquired second-year swingman Reggie Bullock from the Los Angeles Clippers in mid-January as part of the deal that reunited Austin Rivers with his father, coach Doc Rivers, in L.A., but Bullock had trouble getting opportunities to play upon his arrival in the Valley of the Sun.

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Before Monday’s game at Portland, Bullock had appeared in just seven games with the Suns, logging a total of just 25 minutes.

But Bullock suddenly got 12 minutes in the loss at Portland Monday night and played 13 minutes as the Suns lost at Golden State on Thursday.

That came after playing four minutes in the entire month of March.

His shooting touch—his calling card at North Carolina that got him taken with the 25th overall pick by the Clippers in 2013—isn’t there yet. Bullock missed all seven of his shot attempts against the Trail Blazers and Warriors, scoring a single point at Golden State by splitting a pair of free throws.

Bullock is just 1-for-12 overall since coming to the Suns, but he wasn’t exactly burning the nets in L.A., either, where he was shooting 42.6 percent overall and 38.5 percent from 3-point range.

As a rookie in 2013-14, Bullock played in only 43 games and averaged 9.2 minutes a night, shooting .355/.301/.778.

In the blowout at Portland, Bullock played the entire fourth quarter and was the second man off the bench Thursday night.

His offensive game is showing signs of needing serious applications of Rust-Oleum, but Bullock turned some heads with his defensive work Monday night.

“He guarded his guy one-on-one and didn’t let him drive,” Hornacek told The Arizona Republic. “His help weak-side defense was very good. He did what we always talk about on the weak side, where if you’re on a loaded side and somebody is helping, you’re splitting two guys. You’re not standing with one guy. Reggie did it right the whole quarter.

“You can go to bat with guys when you know they’re going to do the right things at least defensively and not take bad shots and not turn the ball over.”

So the recent surge in playing time is more than just garbage time in the throes of a disappointing finish to the season. Bullock is playing for a spot in the rotation in 2015-16.

“I like playing defense,” Bullock said “I take it personal for a matchup. It’s just all about me doing it consistently and have the coaches believe in me and do it right every time.”

Bullock played three years at North Carolina and emerged as a legitimate threat from distance, shooting 43.6 percent from the college 3-point line as a junior in 2012-13 while averaging 13.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

But he had the poor fortune of being drafted by a team in the Clippers that was not so much looking to develop a young player as it was looking to win right now.

Because of some injury issues early in the season, Bullock did get a chance to be in the rotation as a rookie from mid-November through early December.

In a 10-game stretch, he averaged 15.2 minutes a game and shot .432/.364/.667 while averaging 4.2 points and 1.6 rebounds per game.

Nov 26, 2014; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Reggie Bullock (25) shoots during the first quarter against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 26, 2014; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Reggie Bullock (25) shoots during the first quarter against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /

But when Matt Barnes and Jared Dudley were pronounced ready to play, Bullock suddenly found himself needing binoculars to see Rivers at the front end of the bench.

He took 20 straight DNPs or inactives before getting two minutes in a win at New York on Jan. 17 and outside of a couple of games in mid-March during which he played 52 minutes on back-to-back nights, his playing time was virtually non-existent the rest of the season.

He played 31 seconds in the Clippers’ first-round playoff victory over the Warriors and after getting five minutes in a win in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Bullock never saw the floor again as a rookie.

He started two games for Los Angeles this season but averaged the same 9.2 minutes he had as a rookie in 34 appearances prior to the trade to Phoenix.

Bullock was brought to the Clippers as a potential “3-and-D” guy and it appears Hornacek is enamored certainly of the “D” end of the equation based on the time Bullock played against the Blazers.

Going into next season, the Suns have P.J. Tucker and rookie T.J. Warren under contract at the small forward/big guard spots, with Danny Granger holding a $2.1 million player option, according to HoopsHype.com.

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    • The Suns will also have a decision to make on Brandon Knight, who will be a restricted free agent.

    Phoenix’s poor finish may open the door for Bullock to get the opportunity to be an actual part of an NBA rotation on a regular basis for the first time in his career.

    He’s took good a shooter not to think that with regular playing time, his touch will return. Practice or not, it’s hard to keep your shot in tune when you play four minutes in an entire month.

    I liked Bullock’s shooting potential coming into the draft, but had concerns about his ball-handling. But playing on a team with at least one point guard in Eric Bledsoe and potentially a second if Phoenix bring back Knight, it would put Bullock in a situation which is ideally suited for his skill set—working without the ball to find open shots to launch that jumper.

    If he can find the range and continue to do the right things on the defensive end, he could be a significant contributor to the Suns as they try to get over the playoff hump in 2015-16.

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