5. Young Talents Earn More Minutes
This is one of those Christmas wishes along the lines of “I wish I had a pony” or “I wish for world peace,” but who knows? Maybe now that Anthony Tolliver has been traded to the Detroit Pistons, there will be some available minutes for T.J. Warren and/or Archie Goodwin off the bench. Stranger Christmas miracles have happened!
Goodwin’s unlikely to crack the rotation as a shooting guard, but as a small forward, Warren might be able to soak up some of Tolliver’s minutes now. Tolliver didn’t play very much, but Warren has shown in limited doses he can score at the NBA level, averaging 4.2 points in 10.7 minutes per game on 46.2 percent shooting.
We all know Phoenix’s backcourt is overloaded, and the last thing this team needs is more adjustment time now that the point guard hydra is finally working. But Goodwin (20) and Warren (21) are both prospects with a ton of potential, so even in the middle of their pursuit for the postseason, it’d be nice to see the young talent earn a little more playing time.
Next: No. 4