P.J. Tucker: 2014-15 Phoenix Suns Player Grades
Lowlights:
For a guy who built his reputation on hard-nosed defense, Tucker sure did get burned with the game on the line quite often. In the moments that Tucker lives for as a defender, he came up just short in a few memorable losses.
In an overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on the road, for example, Tucker was getting toasted by Blake Griffin. Again, this was another example of Tucker having to play out of position, but it probably didn’t help when Tucker got in Griffin’s face and the two had to be separated.
We all know what happened not long after that:
If you notice Griffin chasing someone after knocking down that game-winner, that was Tucker. Griffin was restrained by teammates as he went to let Tucker know about the shot he had just made. Even if it took a lucky bounce, that shot gave Griffin 45 points and the win. Tucker, the one who goaded Griffin into his career night with all his smack talk, finished with four points.
That wasn’t the only game-winner Tucker gave up, though the second one technically wasn’t in his face. Against the Houston Rockets, Tucker was given the task of stopping James Harden, something he’s proven he can do in the past.
But this time, he didn’t even get the chance since the Beard’s stepback sent Tucker reeling. If you’re looking for Tucker on that play, check somewhere in the first row:
Harden and Griffin are two of the best 15 players in the league, so it’s hard to blame Tucker too much. His limitations are what they are and on a championship-caliber team, he’d be coming off the bench. But since that’s not the case in Phoenix, we have to acknowledge that two of the biggest lowlights of Tucker’s season came in moments where he’d kill to rise to the occasion.
There were plenty of nights where Tucker would finish in single digits in the scoring column, putting up something like a 1-for-8 shooting night. But since Tucker seemed to alternate between those kinds of games and then regroup (either by not shooting or by having a more efficient night), it’s really not even worth covering.
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