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.
Next: At The 2
At The 2
Archie Goodwin’s natural position is the shooting guard spot. But at 6’5″ and 198 pounds, he’s often a bit skinny in comparison to the stronger starting shooting guards that litter the league.
However, Goodwin’s lightning quick first step gives him an immediate advantage over his defender, allowing him to blow by his man and attack the basket with what feels like reckless abandon at times. At 20 years old, Goodwin is already agile enough to get past the first line of the defense and to the rim.
The only problem is at this stage of his career, he has problems finishing once he gets there.
Per NBA.com, Goodwin has only converted 29 of his 66 field goal attempts (43.9 percent) from five feet in this season. Goodwin is a 36 percent three-point shooter this year, but he’s taken a limited number of attempts from long range. Of his 39 made field goals this season, 29 of them have come from that distance less than five feet, so it’s inherently obvious where Goodwin likes to score from.
Eric Bledsoe said Goodwin’s knack for getting to the rim, even if it doesn’t always result in a basket, is a positive sign.
“He’s being aggressive,” he said. “He ain’t gonna let nobody change his game, you know, everybody always calls him out of control but at the end of the day he comes in and plays hard, he just tries to be the hardest player out there.”
Head coach Jeff Hornacek also acknowledged that Goodwin has a hard time finishing through contact right now. But he believes the future is bright considering how well he can already get to the rim.
“I think a couple of times when he drove in there, he’s got that ability to get by guys, just, you know, again, he’s working on his strength,” he said. “And he is getting stronger. Last year he probably would’ve been flipped on those drives to the basket, now he’s taking the contact and he didn’t finish a couple of them, but I see as the years go on and he gets stronger and stronger, he’s going to be blowing right through those guys and laying it in or dunking it.”
Next: At The 1
At The 1
With Brandon Knight, Gerald Green, Marcus Thornton, P.J. Tucker, Reggie Bullock, T.J. Warren and Danny Granger all capable of playing the shooting guard position, however, it’s no wonder minutes at the 2 have been scarce for Goodwin. There simply aren’t enough minutes for everyone, even if Granger has yet to suit up and Bullock rarely gets any action.
But Green and Thornton are both unrestricted free agents this summer, whereas Goodwin represents a young cog that will be a part of Phoenix’s prolonged rebuilding process. With the playoffs slipping away and Knight missing the last few games with that ankle injury, Hornacek has experimented with playing Goodwin at the 1 in some lineups.
Since Knight went down with the ankle injury against the Golden State Warriors, Goodwin’s taken on more responsibility in the backcourt as a distributor. In the last four games, Goodwin’s racked up 11 assists in 65 minutes — not bad for a guy who has a total of only 48 assists to his name in 79 career games.
That was a fantastic pass from Goodwin. He and Warren showing how effective it is having D-League team that runs same plays @BakersfieldJam
— Matt Petersen (@TheMattPetersen) February 21, 2015
Bledsoe noticed Goodwin’s playmaking ability after last night’s game against the Knicks, which featured a few lineups with Archie at the 1.
“He’s much better at finding the open man and keeping his head up and being in attack mode,” he said. “I think that the D-League kind of helped him a little bit to get his confidence there.”
I know, I know; by now, Suns fans are probably pretty jaded with the whole concept of playing point guards at the shooting guard position and vice versa. But Hornacek thinks that playing Goodwin at both positions in some of these less conventional lineups will pay off in the long run.
"“We’re always telling Archie, ‘You’re going to get a reputation. If your reputation is you never pass it, when you go to drive you’re going to have three, four guys in on you. But if you make passes out, then all of a sudden those guys aren’t going to come help, and now you’re going to take your guy one-on-one and on a full speed like that you’re going to have the bucket.’ So I think he’s done a much better job of looking at where he can pass the ball and consequently, he gets more good looks.”"
Next: On Defense
On Defense
Offensively, Archie Goodwin already has the tools to become a very good player down the road. Watching his brilliant flashes of potential — from rising up to destroy Jonas Valanciunas at the rim to dropping 29 points on the Sacramento Kings as a rookie — tells us he’s on the right trajectory on the offensive end of the floor.
Like most of the players on the Suns’ roster, it’s the defensive end where Goodwin will need to improve.
You don’t have to watch Goodwin for long on defense to tell he’s still figuring things out. If we can rave about his potential by saying, “And he’s only 20 years old!” we should also be able to explain his learning curve on the defensive end with, “He is only 20 years old.”
Not a huge stat line, but really good game from Archie Goodwin today. Attacking on O. Feisty on D.
— Michael Gallagher (@MikeSGallagher) March 16, 2015
Rookies and younger players often struggle to adapt to NBA defensive rotations. After all, the level of talent on offense is a whole new world for most of these guys and defensive schemes at the professional level demand a lot more attention and know-how. Still, Goodwin is starting to show signs on that end of the floor, unlocking the key to his playing time in the process.
“The biggest thing we tell Archie is, ‘If you’re not killing us defensively, it’s easier to keep you in there,'” Hornacek said. “I thought he was doing a good job of fighting over screens, really trying to put pressure on guys. He was our one guy picking guys up in the backcourt and we’re looking for a guy that can do that.”
Three steals is nothing to get overly excited about, and we probably shouldn’t read too much into one of Goodwin’s best defensive performances coming against the offensively inept Knickerbockers. But Goodwin’s effort on that end extends beyond a couple of steals in one game against an NBA bottom feeder. As he continues to get stronger and gain more experience, all that length and speed could come in handy.
Next: Fitting In With The Suns
Fitting In With The Suns
The Phoenix Suns are infatuated with dual-guard lineups. Combo guards Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight (assuming the Suns pay up for their restricted free agent this summer) represent the future of the backcourt. To be able to find a permanent place in this team’s lineup, Goodwin may need to tweak his game a little bit to become more versatile.
That’s not to say Goodwin needs to become a full-on point guard, but logging minutes at the 1 is only going to enhance his passing skills, which, as Hornacek explained, will make him that much more difficult to defend when he attacks the basket.
As for Archie himself, he doesn’t seem to have a problem with being played out of his natural position.
“I have a high IQ, I feel, so I’m able to adjust to the situation and whatever coach wants me to do I’ll do,” he said. “So whether it’s me being the 1 or the 2 I just try to adapt to the guys and I know how they play.”
As the youngest player on the roster, it’s encouraging that Goodwin is starting to get more consistent minutes. The Suns may not reach the playoffs, but since they’re still in the hunt, this team’s young players are getting their opportunity AND playing meaningful minutes at the same time.
“Definitely, with experience comes rewards I guess is what you’d say,” Goodwin said. “You know, with continuing to get more playing time I get used to things and I get to see things develop more and it’s helping me out.”
There’s no question he’s starting to harness that potential while playing at two different positions. The next step, according to Goodwin? Building that reputation, which might help him out in an area that’s been slightly frustrating him lately.
“Now if I could get a freaking call,” he joked after the Knicks game. “It’s making my field goal percentage look bad!”
Next: Suns Recap: Suns Regroup From Bad First Half To Down Knicks