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Phoenix Suns: Eric Bledsoe Taking Steps Toward Being Elite

By Gerald Bourguet

Oct 31, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe (2) celebrates after scoring in the first half of the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. The Suns won 101-90. Mandatory Credit: Godofredo Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 31, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe (2) celebrates after scoring in the first half of the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. The Suns won 101-90. Mandatory Credit: Godofredo Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Phoenix Suns
Oct 30, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) shoots the ball against Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe (2) at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the Trail Blazers 110-92. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports /

Defense

The addition of Tyson Chandler has helped the Suns become a top-10 defensive team, holding opponents to 97.9 points per 100 possessions (eighth in the league). But this suddenly stingy Phoenix D starts with Eric Bledsoe’s bulldog defense on the perimeter, and it extends far beyond his career high 2.1 steals per game.

The Suns have already faced some elite backcourts this season, including Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum of the Portland Trail Blazers, Russell Westbrook with the Thunder and Bledsoe’s former mentor Chris Paul on the Los Angeles Clippers. And yet, according to NBA.com, opponents have shot 1.7 percent worse than they’d normally shoot when guarded by Bledsoe.

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    • That 1.7 percent doesn’t seem like a huge difference, but considering Bledsoe is holding his opponents to 40.3 percent shooting and has completely smothered the likes of Lillard and CP3 in their head-to-head matchups, it’s safe to say his defensive prowess makes him one of the better two-way players in the league, regardless of position.

    Bledsoe has been limited for stretches due to early foul trouble a few times this season, but head coach Jeff Hornacek doesn’t seem bothered by his point guard’s aggression on that end.

    “No because he’s a great defender,” Hornacek said before Saturday’s game against the Nuggets. “Some of them are cheap calls, but that’s one of his strengths is he locks up the other team’s guards. That’s big for us. So we don’t worry about his aggression, we want him to keep playing that way because he’s one of the best defenders on the ball there is.”

    In the Denver game, Bledsoe held rookie Emmanuel Mudiay to 13 points and one assist on 6-of-18 shooting. For a guy who goes balls-to-the-wall on the offensive end, his energy on the defensive end has become even more impressive.

    “We ask Eric to do a lot on the defensive end, guarding some of these top point guards,” Hornacek said. “I think he’s one of the best guys in the league at guarding pick and rolls. He’s strong, he can get over them, he’s got long arms, he can veer back and get steals that way, so he puts a lot of effort in there.”

    Next: Three-Point Shooting

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