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Phoenix Suns: Examining The Youngsters 2 Weeks Into 2016-17 Season

By Gerald Bourguet

Nov 4, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) celebrates with teammates after scoring in overtime of a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. The Suns defeated the Pelicans 112-111 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 4, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) celebrates with teammates after scoring in overtime of a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. The Suns defeated the Pelicans 112-111 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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Phoenix Suns
Oct 28, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Phoenix Suns forward T.J. Warren (12) drives to the basket in front of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Victor Oladipo (5) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

T.J. Warren, The Not-So-Forgotten Man

Through the first two weeks of the season, T.J. Warren has probably been the Suns’ best player overall, or at least their most consistent.

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Averaging 20.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game on .458/.333/.810 shooting splits, Warren is leading the team in steals, while also being second in scoring. He’s playing efficient, smart basketball, using his undeniable knack for putting the ball in the hole to capitalize on Phoenix’s lack of a true offensive system.

“Talented offensive players can play in any offense,” Watson said. “They just find a way to score and get it going. I think you see T.J. Warren taking that big jump that was a great gift for us and we embrace that totally.”

Against Phoenix’s toughest competition, Warren has consistently shown up to play. He dropped a career-high 30 points in the team’s OT loss to the Thunder, and backed that up with 26 points against the Warriors.

With his bigger frame, midrange game and “sneaky” athleticism, Warren’s game has been compared to Paul Pierce numerous times this season by Watson. He was something of a forgotten man coming off a season-ending foot injury, but his growth has been a main story for the Suns early on.

Warren has quickly proven himself as a 20 points per game kind of scorer, and he’s also flashed a developing three-point shot and improved defense.

Even on nights where Booker has taken centerstage, Warren has contributed with double-digit scoring in every game, like his 18-points-on-17-shots performance in New Orleans where he provided the game-winner in OT, a brilliant backdoor cut for the dunk:

The question is, where does he go from here? Will he be more than just a scorer putting up empty stats on a bad team?

“Next thing of his growth that he has to be able to do is, he’s gonna get a lot of shots, is he gonna make other guys better?” Jared Dudley said. “That’s something I’ve worked on with him is him driving and getting two defenders, Tyson [Chandler] for lobs, myself for threes. He’s one of our best scorers so we know he can do that, we know he’s effective, just now it’s the next part of his game.”

Between Booker and the 23-year-old Warren, there’s no question the Suns will have go-to scorers in their future. The question is whether that duo can improve enough defensively to lead to lasting team success.

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