Phoenix Suns: 5 goals for Marquese Chriss in 2017-18

Heading into an intriguing second season with the Phoenix Suns, here are five realistic goals for Marquese Chriss in 2017-18.

The Phoenix Suns may be seven years removed from their last playoff appearance, but unlike past seasons where the team languished in the NBA’s no man’s land of lottery teams, the 2017-18 iteration enters a new season with a more optimistic, albeit long-term focus.

Devin Booker is already shaping up to be the next franchise star, while the newly drafted Josh Jackson projects to be another franchise pillar. From there, the Suns roster is littered with young, moldable balls of clay who could become vital pieces of the rebuild or amount to little more than high-upside busts when all is said and done.

Chief among those players is Marquese Chriss, the No. 8 pick of the 2016 NBA Draft that the Suns traded two first round picks and the rights to Bogdan Bogdanovic for. At only 20 years old, it’s hard to tell where Chriss’ game will ultimately fall between his ceiling and his floor, especially since he didn’t start playing basketball until he was 14 years old.

The Suns are hoping he becomes another pillar of the youth movement, and he showed flashes as a rookie, starting in 75 of his 82 games and earning a spot on the NBA All-Rookie Second Team behind 9.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game.

However, he was often clueless on the defensive end, outmatched on the boards and struggled from 3-point range (32.1 percent) until after the All-Star break. These problems are all expected from a teenage rookie, of course, but there’s a great amount on intrigue surrounding Chriss’ second NBA season.

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Will he take the next step forward to being a competent stretch-4 or small-ball 5? Or will he heavily struggle on the defensive end again despite his immense athleticism? Here are five realistic goals for Marquese Chriss in his sophomore season.