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

2. Average seven rebounds per game

Rebounding was one of Marquese Chriss’ biggest shortcomings heading into the draft, and that certainly proved to be the case in his rookie season. Though he only played 21.3 minutes per game, his 4.2 rebounds ranked 66th out of 95 forwards who played at least 21 minutes a night.

His rebounding percentage of 10.9 ranked 182nd in the association, he ranked seventh on the Suns’ roster in rebounds per game despite being the team’s starting power forward, his 0.2 rebounds per minute ranked 179th in league…you get the idea.

Chriss put on some muscle and a bit of extra weight over the summer, and it sounds like the Suns are planning to play him more at the 5 this season. Hopefully the extra build on his frame and a more committed focus to owning the boards will lead to drastic improvement in this weak area of his game.

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When asked about how he planned to shore up this area of his game at Media Day, Chriss was bluntly honest:

"“I think just putting my mind to it and realizing that I can jump a lot higher than a lot of people. Just staying aggressive. I think sometimes I might slack off and not realize that I can go get it and the ball will bounce right in front of me. Just making a play on the ball and reading where the flight of the ball is going and taking my best opportunity to get it.”"

Jumping from 4.2 rebounds a night to 8.0 per game seems like a stretch in a frontcourt that still includes Tyson Chandler, Alex Len and Dragan Bender, but with Alan Williams likely out for the season, averaging 7.0 per game is a reasonable goal for Chriss in year two.