Phoenix Suns: 5 Reasons To Keep Watching In A Lost Season
2. Lensanity
In his nine games since the Markieff Morris trade, Alex Len has shown more signs of becoming a star than he ever did through his first two and a half seasons in the NBA. In that span, the Suns’ center of the future is averaging 18.4 points, 12.1 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game.
Though he’s only shooting 42.5 percent from the floor since the trade, now would be a good time to remind everyone that he’s only 22 years old. Now that he’s getting a chance at legitimate playing time and is coming from a more confident place, he’s finally starting to live up to his billing as a top-five draft pick.
Look no further than his career-high 31-point performance against the Orlando Magic as proof, a victory in which he also logged 15 rebounds and six assists.
In his rookie season, it was injuries that held him back. In his second season, it was being tossed into the fire with his rapid ascension to the starting role that limited his growth. This year, the Tyson Chandler signing thwarted his progress.
But the good news is that Watson has pledged to keep Len in the starting lineup for the rest of the season — even if the Twin Towers lineup of Len and Chandler is an atrocious -68 in the 228 minutes they’ve played together this year.
The Suns have made Len his No. 1 option given the way Devin Booker struggled with that responsibility. Watson credits Len’s growth with the amount of touches he’s getting down low, where he’s now strong enough to do things like this:
“Alex Len earlier in the year was running in transition and getting the ball whenever he could, offensive rebounding,” Watson said. “Finding ways to score was kind of rare and unpredictable for him. I think we have a unique player who is a great offensive threat. If you let them know when they’re getting ball, where they’re getting the ball, it’s easier to visualize.”
With Len racking up double-doubles with ease now, it’s time for Phoenix to hand the reins over to him as the starting center. Watching him grow and start to grasp at the ceiling of his potential is one of the few tangible pleasures Suns fans can take from the remainder of this lost season.
Next: No. 1