Phoenix Suns: 5 areas for improvement for youngsters
4. Guard play
Losing Bledsoe without getting a serviceable replacement at his position was always going to hurt the Suns’ guard play, but Mike James falling off after a surprising start and Tyler Ulis’ underwhelming play have left them extremely shorthanded in this area.
Phoenix is outmatched at one of the most important positions on the floor on a nightly basis, and it’s not a stretch to say that most games, Devin Booker looks like the best point guard on the roster.
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To be fair, Ulis has somewhat turned things around lately, using his return to the starting lineup to slowly build confidence back up and string together a few strong performances, but he’s still far too inconsistent to be relied upon as a starter at this point in his career. His .417/.316/.833 shooting splits in 20 starts are underwhelming as it is; throw in the first 12 games where he came off the bench and those plummet to .391/.259/.831 for the season.
James, meanwhile, came out firing as the starter in his first month at the helm, averaging 12.4 points and 3.9 assists in 24.3 minutes per game on .414/.362/.787 shooting through the first 14 games of the season. Since then, his numbers and minutes have dropped to 8.8 points and 3.6 assists in 18.3 minutes per game on ghastly .365/.180/.730 splits.
With James’ early two-way contract magic wearing off and Ulis failing to spread the floor with his 8.0 points and 4.0 assists per game, defenses are able to hone in on Devin Booker without fear of Phoenix’s point guards making them pay with an open 3-point play or attacking off the bounce to make a play.
Booker not only leads the team in scoring, but his 4.1 assists per game are also a team-high among all qualified players. It’s no surprise the Suns plan to keep Isaiah Canaan, their latest backcourt insurance move, once Booker returns to the lineup.
In three appearances, Canaan has averaged 14.0 points and 5.3 assists per game, and because the ball doesn’t stick in his hand like it does with James, he’s eaten into James’ minutes at backup point guard.
Don't be surprised if Isaiah Canaan stays on the roster once Booker returns. Logical place to open up a roster spot would be at center, where there's a logjam of three. If Suns go that way, Monroe likely odd man out.
— scott bordow (@sbordow) December 20, 2017
All in all, the Suns rank 29th in assists (20.1 per game), 29th in assist percentage (51.5 percent) and 29th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.25). In a league with so many highly touted point guards, the Suns are trotting out a point guard pu-pu platter of Tyler Ulis, Mike James and Isaiah Canaan.
Whether it’s Luka Doncic, Collin Sexton or Trae Young in the draft, trading for a new floor general or signing one in free agency, the Phoenix Suns — who were overstocked with point guards not so long ago — are now miserably outmatched in this area of the roster.