Phoenix Suns: 5 Areas For Improvement

2. More Minutes For The Rookies

Watson has been a little bit better about this of late, starting Marquese Chriss over Jared Dudley at the 4 as early as the ninth game of the season and feeding Dragan Bender 11.5 minutes per game over the Suns’ last four contests.

But Bender’s recent uptick in minutes only looks so good because any increase from “DNP-CD” is an improvement, and it’s probably only happening because T.J. Warren is currently sidelined with a “minor head injury.” Chriss is still only averaging 15.2 minutes per game as the starter, while Tyler Ulis has been limited to 11.3 minutes per game as well.

To be fair to Watson, he’s trying to prove that he can be a good coach, not just a babysitter until the Suns’ youth has developed to the point of being playoff-competitive again.

But 19 games into the season, it’s pretty clear Phoenix isn’t at that point yet, so how much longer will the Suns have to endure significant minutes going to aging veterans like Tyson Chandler, P.J. Tucker, Jared Dudley and Leandro Barbosa?

No one’s saying the rooks should be playing 30-40 minutes a night in an obvious tank attempt, but they also shouldn’t be restricted to bench/mop-up duty on the nights when the veterans are resting or out injured. As the future cornerstones of the franchise, a trial by fire might benefit everyone in the long run.

So far this season, the rookies have struggled. Bender, the No. 4 pick in this year’s draft, is averaging just 2.7 points and 1.3 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per game on .375/.348/.000 shooting splits. Chriss, the No. 8 pick, is at 6.0 points and 2.8 rebounds per game on .433/.296/.517 shooting, and Ulis has posted 3.7 points and 1.8 assists per game on .400/.000/.900 shooting.

This is unacceptable for a rebuilding franchise, especially when Bender comes out with a 10-point, 4-for-5 shooting debut, when Chriss shows such potential with his athleticism, or when Tyler Ulis provides some much-needed defensive energy off the bench.

There’s a reason they’re called “growing pains” rather than “growing pleasures,” and Suns fans would likely be discouraged by the results if Bender, Chriss and Ulis were to get more substantial playing time.

But if the goal in Phoenix is to truly build a new culture and establish a winning mentality for the future, it starts with giving more minutes to the guys who will actually be here down the road to help shape it.