Lowlights:
For a rookie in Warren’s position, on a team fighting for a playoff spot, minutes were understandably scarce early in the season. Before the All-Star break and trade deadline that shook up the entire roster, Warren had played a grand total of 147 minutes in 16 games.
In an expanded role, Warren logged 468 minutes in 24 games after the break, more than tripling the amount of minutes he played, points he scored, rebounds he grabbed, shots he made AND shots he attempted in the prior three and a half months. Once Warren got his chance he showed what he could do, but his opportunities were rare until late February.
There is absolutely no scenario where TJ Warren shouldn't be the starting small forward for the Phoenix Suns on 2015's opening night
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) April 3, 2015
Once Warren did get more consistent minutes off the bench, he usually made the most of his limited playing time. But he wasn’t always flashing his potential either. Aside from the common rookie mistakes like turnovers and help defense popping up from time to time, he had a slight stinker against the Atlanta Hawks on Apr. 7, going 1-for-7 from the field in 15 minutes.
To be fair, no one played well in that ugly 96-69 defeat, but that game was a pretty clear indicator that as good as Warren already is, he’s still a work in progress.
The last lowlight of his season has to be the “Rush Hour” nickname he received from the Suns broadcast team (because “he’s so good at navigating through traffic”). We need to work together to put a stop to this before it spreads, Suns fans. Until Warren gets a Chinese sidekick or starts singing falsetto Michael Jackson, can we all please agree that “Scorin’ Warren” is infinitely better and just stick with that?
Next: Highlights