Phoenix Suns: 2016-17 First Quarter Grades
Earl Watson
The Phoenix Suns were harshly criticized for not doing their due diligence in their search for a new head coach, hiring Watson in April when names like Tom Thibodeau and Scott Brooks were still available. The team’s 22-game sample size is a small one, but when mixed with his time at the helm as interim coach last year, it’s becoming glaringly obvious the criticism was warranted.
To be fair, the Suns don’t need a championship-caliber coach right now. This is a rebuilding franchise in need of a coach that will properly develop the youth and set the stage for a new chapter and eventual return to the playoffs.
But aside from his non-stop talk about love and family that gets drowned out by the team’s 6-16 record, has Watson really been that guy?
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To his credit, Watson has made a few necessary calls in favor of the youth. Coming into the season, starting Devin Booker felt like the right move, but it wasn’t guaranteed by any means.
Making the call to enact that change and move Knight to the bench from the start was a big one, and without all that team building over the summer, there’d probably be far more tension in the locker room of a team that’s started the season so poorly.
Tucker has never been shy about praising Warren, but conceding his starting job to a third-year player took the same kind of “all for the greater good” buy-in that Watson preached all summer. Keeping Warren as the starter even after Tucker’s return was another big call that may seem like a no-brainer to some, but represented a decent leap of faith in favor of the youth.
Alex Len still isn’t starting over the 34-year-old Chandler, but promoting Marquese Chriss to the starting lineup in just his eighth game was another gutsy call. These moves all make sense in the context of the rebuild, but it was entirely possible the Suns could’ve entered the season with a veteran-heavy starting five of Bledsoe, Knight, Tucker, Dudley and Chandler.
That being said, it’s hard to say Watson is a good coach outside of trying to foster a new culture. He’s not playing Bender and Ulis enough, Chriss could use heavier minutes, and the Suns’ offensive problems have been well-documented at this point.
The Suns rank in the bottom third in both offensive and defensive rating, they’re 14th in the Western standings and they’re one of the league’s worst assist teams, ranking dead last in assist percentage, assist-to-turnover ratio and assists per game.
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When you look over at a team like the Lakers, and observe what Luke Walton is extracting from a similar team built on youth and over-the-hill veterans, it’s hard to avoid thinking about how much work Watson has left if he wants to prove himself as a legitimate NBA coach.
Grade: D+