Phoenix Suns: 5 takeaways from 2018 NBA Summer League
2. Aggression is still the key for Bender
If Dragan Bender’s NBA career were a film, How To Train Your Dragan‘s plot would revolve around the moment the titular character learns his aggression is the key to unlocking his potential.
How the story ends remains to be seen, because it’s worth remembering he’s only 20 years old and has played a grand total of 125 games in his NBA career. With that being said, it was once again apparent in Vegas that Bender is only worth playing when he’s playing aggressively.
Overall, Croatian big averaged 6.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in Las Vegas on 13-of-35 shooting (37.1 percent) — certainly not the numbers you’d hope to see from a fourth overall draft pick in his first Summer League appearance, let alone his third.
However, when he was actually assertive with the ball and looking to score, Bender reminded viewers why it’s far too soon to give up on him.
Through the first two games, he had more turnovers (eight) than points (five) on 2-of-12 shooting, but he was great in the team’s third contest against the Orlando Magic, finishing with 11 points and eight rebounds on 3-of-6 shooting from deep. He was also one of the few players who played well in Phoenix’s loss to Philly, finishing with 12 points and five rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting.
No, Bender didn’t dominate Summer League, which you typically like to see out of third-year players. But when he was aggressive, he looked like the genuine seven-foot asset this team could use. He’s still only 20 years old, barely had a rookie season and shot 36.6 percent from 3-point range last year. There are definite warning signs of Bender being a draft bust, but it’s still too early to give up on him.