Since Phoenix Suns star Eric Bledsoe got hurt, Brandon Knight has been in charge on the court — how has he done so far?
Just over eight minutes into the Phoenix Suns loss to the Philadelphia 76ers back on Dec. 26, 2015, Eric Bledsoe tore his meniscus, which would require surgery — ending his season. What was once dual-threat at the point guard position for the Suns turned into a solo effort, with Brandon Knight getting the ultimate green light. How’s that working out?
That 76ers loss was the fourth in a row for the Suns — a streak that would hit nine consecutive — before the Suns picked up a nice home win against the Charlotte Hornets. That makes Phoenix 1-6 in games since Bledsoe’s injury (1-7 overall in 2015-16). During that seven-game stretch, Knight is averaging 19.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 5.6 assists, shooting 41.7 percent from the field, 29 percent from three and 94.4 percent from the foul line.
Some would argue that Knight is not a legit No. 1 option, while others feel the polarizing guard has been hampered by having to play off the ball next to Bledsoe. The numbers point towards the former.
When you’ve got two ball-dominant players on the court at the same time, you’d expect one (or both) to struggle to adapt. Not touching the ball often can put a huge strain on a rhythm shooter like Knight — but that hasn’t been as much of a problem as you’d think. In terms of the admittedly noisy usage stat, Knight goes from 25 percent with Bledsoe to 28.3 percent without him on the court.
Per-36 minutes, Knight has averaged 19.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.4 steals with Bledsoe and 20.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.2 steals without him. Perhaps the stat that sticks out the most — he’s a minus-1.3 with Bledsoe and a minus-5.6 without.
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Having a slashing, drive-and-kick guard like Bledsoe on the court is generally a godsend for a spot-up shooter. Knight has solidified himself as being just that. According to NBA.com/stats, Knight is in the 75th percentile in spot-up shooting, scoring 1.06 points per possession (PPP). The problem is, he only finds himself in that spot 14.1 percent of the time.
One of the major criticisms of head coach Jeff Hornacek has been the schemes that he runs on offense. The Suns are so vanilla, so iso-heavy and so slow to get into their sets, that they often resort to tough jumpers or less-than-ideal positioning. For example, Knight is the pick-and-roll ball handler 40.5 percent of the time, yet scores just 0.73 PPP, good for the 47th percentile. For some contrast, Bledsoe scores 0.97 PPP, which lands him in the 90th percentile.
The dream scenario is to have a point guard to run the offense while Bledsoe is out — and the idea was that Knight should be that guy — but it’s looking more and more like he’s not best suited for that role. This highlight clip shows it all, with a lot of crafty scoring and the ability to put pressure on the defense, but not in the typical lead guard mold:
In catch and shoot situations, Knight is shooting just 36.1 percent from the field (37.8 from three), for an effective field goal percentage of 53.3. In pull-up situations, those numbers are 36.4 percent from the field, but the 3-point shot tanks (29.6 percent). We’re certainly cherry picking numbers, but it appears planting his feet on or near the 3-point line is a much more effective strategy.
Knight is skilled enough to attack a defender who closes out too hard, which will put enormous pressure on the defense to adjust. He’s got above-average passing skills, which he can then use to find the open man.
Where Bledsoe has had the greatest impact on Knight — and is the impetus for this article calling for Knight at the 2 — is the space he provides. Knight has been able to make use of that space, specifically from inside the arc. With Bledsoe on the court, Knight is shooting 50.4 percent on 2-point shots, compared to 43.8 percent when he’s by himself. At the rim, Knight shoots an elite 67.1 percent with Bledsoe compared to an average 60.3 percent without.
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Not that Knight and Bledsoe should be compared to the Golden State Warriors duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, but that’s the dynamic they should shoot for. There’s a clear ball-dominant player (Curry) and a guy working to get his heels planted in order to play off of that dominant player (Thompson). Knight isn’t the off-screen shooter that Thompson is and Bledsoe doesn’t have the dynamic offensive game of Curry, but the general idea should work.