T.J. Warren: 2014-15 Phoenix Suns Player Grades
Weaknesses:
As a rookie, this isn’t surprising, but one area head coach Jeff Hornacek cited all season long as something Warren needed to improve was his defense within the team concept.
Warren usually held his own as a one-on-one defender, as evidenced by his defensive field goal percentage of 43.5 percent — holding opponents to 0.9 percent worse shooting than they’d normally shoot, per NBA.com. That’s not a fantastic number, but it’s worth noting that on shots greater than 15 feet — where Warren normally defended his man — he held his opponent 37.1 percent shooting.
Warren’s not much of a defender at the rim, and his mediocre athleticism comes into play here. But his biggest area for improvement lies in his help defense, where Warren was usually late before showing signs of improvement late in the season. No surprise, those improvements came in the last few months of the season when Warren started getting more minutes.
Hornacek impressed by "stides" Warren took in rookie season. Thinks he'll be great 1-on-1 defender. Wants him to study film all summer
— Matt Petersen (@TheMattPetersen) April 15, 2015
Rookies commonly make a lot of similar mistakes: being late on help defense, committing turnovers, off-target passes, etc. Warren was not immune to such mistakes, but that’s to be expected of a first-year player. Going through some of those growing pains is a good sign moving forward, even if the rook did finish with more turnovers (27) than assists (25) on the year.
However, Warren’s biggest offensive flaws come as a catch-and-shoot player on the wing. According to NBA.com, he shot a dreadful 28.0 percent in catch-and-shoot scenarios. Luckily those shots only constituted 11.7 percent of his attempts, but on a team like the Suns, having a wing who can spread the floor feels like a necessity moving forward.
Unfortunately for Warren, he’s going to have to work hard to become that kind of player. Warren only attempted 21 three-pointers this season, making five of them (23.8 percent).
Warren’s strengths are at the rim and in the midrange (more on that in a second), but Phoenix was the worst three-point shooting team in the league to close the season, making less than 30 percent of their threes after the All-Star break. At some point, the Suns may need Warren to develop his touch from beyond the arc.
Next: Strengths