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Phoenix Suns: 5 Early Season Takeaways

By Gerald Bourguet

Nov 16, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) walks off the court after being ejected from the game during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 120-104. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 16, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) walks off the court after being ejected from the game during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 120-104. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /
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Phoenix Suns
Nov 9, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Jared Dudley (3) celebrates in the fourth quarter against the Detroit Pistons at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the Pistons 107-100. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Dudley And Knight Getting Acclimated In Bench Roles

The two most important bench players for the Phoenix Suns have been Jared Dudley and Brandon Knight of late, with one embracing the role wholeheartedly and the other taking a little more time to adjust. That being said, both are really thriving in the second unit now.

Most expected the 19-year-old Marquese Chriss to eventually take over the starting power forward job, maybe sometime in December or January. It took a grand total of seven games for head coach Earl Watson to make that change, but in typical Dudley fashion, the move to bench duty has gotten nothing but positive feedback.

“Nah, overall it saves my legs, saves my career!” he joked. “The whole thing was to groom Marquese and I can still groom him [from the bench].”

Even better, Dudley’s move to bench duty has actually made him a far more effective weapon on the offense. Through the first seven games as a starter, Dudley averaged 6.4 points and 3.0 rebounds per game on 44.1 percent shooting from the floor and 44.4 percent shooting from three-point range.

No one was expecting All-Star numbers from J-Dudz in a starting role, but his 10.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game on .516/.441/.667 shooting splits off the bench have been one of the few bright spots for the Suns over their last eight games.

As for Knight, his acceptance of a bench role has been much more gradual, but he’s starting to look more acclimated.

In his first seven appearances, Knight averaged 11.6 points and 2.6 assists per game on dismal shooting splits of .326/.240/.950. In his last eight, he’s put up 13.3 points and 3.8 assists per game on improved .422/.385/.833 shooting.

He’s reached double figures in four of his last five games, including a season-high 32 points in Denver, which just so happened to top every other bench player’s single-game scoring high so far in 2016-17.

Knight is still a net negative and it seems highly unlikely he’s put his inconsistency behind him for good, but at least all those shots he’s taking off the bench are, you know, going in the basket now.

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