Phoenix Suns: 2016-17 First Quarter Grades
Brandon Knight
Any glimmering hope the Suns had of making the playoffs before the new season tipped off depended upon Brandon Knight — not only for him to stay healthy and play quality basketball, but to avoid disrupting the synergy in the locker room with his demotion to sixth man duty.
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Devin Booker taking over the starting role was a natural but huge step for the franchise, and Knight’s acceptance of his new bench role has been one of those “actions, not words” kind of situations so far in 2016-17.
Despite saying all the right things and being immediately pegged as a potential Sixth Man of the Year favorite, Knight has struggled to adjust, averaging 13.0 points per game on an abysmal 37.2 percent shooting from the field and 32.4 percent from three-point range.
He’s also dead last in plus/minus on the team, with the Suns being outscored by 7.9 points per game when he’s on the floor.
Games like his 32-point outing in Denver show he can be effective off the bench when he gets hot, but those instances are too few and far between. Mostly, Knight has been the guy who comes off the bench feeling entitled to take a ton of shots as the second unit’s No. 1 option, and then proceeds to miss them all.
Grade: D