Last night against the New York Knicks, Eric Bledsoe fell one rebound short of a triple-double while Brandan Wright notched a season high 18 points and 11 rebounds in his first start for the Phoenix Suns.
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And yet, Archie Goodwin‘s 23 minutes off the bench may have been just as important. Maybe not from a “Thank God the Suns avoided what would’ve been the worst loss of the season” perspective, but definitely from a “the long-term future of this team is still looking pretty promising” point of view.
After the game, Goodwin spoke about what he tried to bring off the pine.
“From the jump if we come out with energy, we can play with anybody in the league and I think that’s what it ultimately is for us is energy,” he said. “Because we’re going to score, just defensively it’s getting stops and bringing energy and you know, repeating it with the bench when they come in, giving the starters a boost.”
The season high 23 minutes Goodwin earned may have been a direct result of Brandon Knight‘s ankle injury and Gerald Green‘s recent struggles more than anything else. Even as he tallied seven points, a career high five assists, four rebounds and a career high three steals, his numbers didn’t leap off the page. In fact, the numbers that stood out the most were probably his 3-for-10 shooting.
But the numbers don’t tell the whole story here, and Goodwin’s well-balanced production, especially since it came from playing two different positions, is worth a closer look.
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