Overview:
The 2014-15 season came with high expectations for the Phoenix Suns, a young team on the rise that had won 48 games the year prior. But with the trade deadline departures of Goran Dragic, Isaiah Thomas and three other players, the Suns lost one-third of their roster and fell apart soon after.
Still, the season was not a complete waste. Young players who needed more minutes finally got them, the core is intact moving forward and Phoenix will look to regroup in the offseason. But in order to put the season in context, it’s time to take a look back on 2014-15 and examine how everyone performed and how they fit in for the long-term.
Today, we continue our daily 2014-15 Phoenix Suns Player Grades with P.J. Tucker, the Suns’ embattled small forward who was signed to a three-year, $16.5 million extension last summer.
Coming off a career season in 2013-14, how did Tucker do in the first year of his new contract? Did he win back fan support after his super extreme D.U.I. last May? And was he really a veteran presence in the locker room?
Here’s a look back on his 2014-15 season.
Next: Weaknesses
Weaknesses:
At the age of 29, Tucker is probably as good right now as he’ll ever be. His strengths and weaknesses have been well-documented at this point, but his flaws were more noticeable this season than they were during last year’s feel-good campaign.
Tucker shot the ball extremely well from three-point range last season, making 38.7 percent of his attempts and becoming a corner three sniper in the process. This season, Tucker took nearly one more three-pointer per game, but he wasn’t able to keep up that same level of efficiency with all those extra attempts.
Tucker shot just 34.5 percent from downtown and on corner threes, once his specialty area, he shot 36.7 percent. Of his 87 made threes this season, 58 of them came from the corners, but he just didn’t knock them down like he did in 2013-14, when he converted 41 percent of his corner threes.
With Tucker’s long range shot not falling, his offense was virtually non-existent at times. Any Suns fan will be able to tell you how many times they’ve shaken their heads at a P.J. Tucker one-man fast break ending in calamity, especially when there was a wide open man running right beside him.
Tucker’s offense is pretty limited, and though there’d be nights where he knocked down a few big shots in the fourth to keep the Suns in the game, he only cracked 20 points twice in his 78 games. His best points came on hustle points from offensive rebounds, but he didn’t create as many second chance opportunities as he did last season.
In fact, the Suns were better off when Tucker wasn’t shooting. In Phoenix’s 42 losses with him on the floor, Tucker averaged 8.4 field goal attempts. In their 36 wins with Tucker in the lineup, that number dropped to 6.8.
For all of Tucker’s heart and determination on the court, he didn’t always make smart decisions. His hustle play set a nice example at times, but his competitive fire also fed into some bad fouls, costly turnovers or dumb technical fouls.
What a terrible technical for PJ Tucker. Then Dragic catches another. Suns give away 2 pts, put themselves down 87-82 with 1:57 to go
— I Always Keep A Can Of Tuna On Me (@SnottieDrippen) January 10, 2015
Tucker toned down his technicals this year (eight) compared to 2013-14 (12), but the example he set last year might have contributed to Markieff Morris and the rest of this undisciplined bunch racking up so many Ts this year.
Finally, we have to mention that despite his reputation for being a gritty defender and rebounder, an inordinate amount of buckets were drilled in his mug this season. The biggest part of the problem isn’t even Tucker’s fault; on such a small team, Tucker was often playing out of position guarding bigger, stronger power forwards (or even centers).
On shots from less than 10 feet, Tucker gave up 60.1 percent shooting, nearly six percent better than what those opponents would normally shoot from that range, per NBA.com. For all his strength and heart, he simply couldn’t stop the bigger bruisers of the Western Conference around the basket.
Next: Strengths
Strengths:
Tucker’s weaknesses are really just his limitations as a player. He doesn’t have a great jump shot or great handles, yet somehow, he’s worked his way into a starting spot on an NBA team after floating around for years overseas. That probably says something about a position of need for the Suns, but it’s also a testament to Tucker’s tremendous work ethic.
Despite being outmatched on a nightly basis, Tucker’s determination helped even things out. Even with him being abused in the post, when he was defending on the perimeter where he belongs, he held opponents to 36.6 percent shooting on shots from further than 15 feet.
Tucker has said he loves playing down low, but the truth is the Suns were a much better defensive team with him defending on the wing. And make no mistake, Tucker is actually an excellent perimeter defender. In the right defensive system with other players committed to defense around him, he’d have the chance to be elite.
On the offensive end, Tucker was mostly average as a shooter. He’s not a great perimeter shooter, but when he was aggressive and used his strength to attack the basket, he was just slightly above league average finishing at the rim, a major improvement from the 48.7 percent he shot at the basket in 2013-14.
Tucker wasn’t as good about drawing fouls as he should have been (averaging only 1.8 free throw attempts per game), but since the Suns don’t (and shouldn’t) run their offense through him, that’s not as big a deal as it seems.
If it’s starting to feel like Tucker doesn’t have any set strengths, it’s worth mentioning that he was by far one of the better defenders on the Suns’ roster. But the truth is, Tucker probably isn’t a starting caliber player in this league, which is why he so often looked overmatched.
Off the bench, Tucker could be a great asset. He has more heart than anyone on this team, he always plays hard, he was one of the few players on this team who ever came up with clutch rebounds when the Suns needed them and as far as hustle guys go, it doesn’t get much better than this.
“Yeah P.J. doesn’t get a lot of stuff, a lot of opportunities, but late in the games, he really gets tuned in and that’s where teams really focus on maybe our other guys and P.J. can get some kickouts,” said head coach Jeff Hornacek after the Suns’ game against the Washington Wizards on Jan. 28.
P.J. Tucker will never lead the league in rebounds, but he's great at those "clutch" rebounds when the #Suns really need them.
— Michael Dunlap (@DunlapSports) January 29, 2015
In the fourth quarter in particular, Tucker almost always stepped up his game. He recorded about one-third of his points and rebounds in the final period this season, and his shooting percentages jumped to 53.3 percent from the floor and 37.9 percent from three-point range.
Moving forward, the Suns will probably need more than the 9.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game that they were getting out of the small forward position. But Tucker usually played to the best of his potential, so it’s hard to fault him too much for that.
Next: Lowlights
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.
Next: Highlights
Highlights:
So far it feels like Tucker had a pretty pedestrian season, but there were some special moments as well, even in such an up and down season.
On Feb. 19, Tucker scored a season high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting while also pulling down six rebounds. He made four of his seven three-point attempts and also had three steals, making him one of the few players who showed up in that loss to the Chicago Bulls.
Two weeks later, he matched his season high with another 20 points against the Miami Heat in Phoenix’s first game against Goran Dragic. It was a blowout loss, but after Alex Len was ejected, Tucker stepped up to the best of his abilities playing center. He finished the game with a season high 14 rebounds in 41 minutes.
There were the less memorable games too, where Tucker’s contributions often went unnoticed. In that Wizards game we mentioned earlier, Tucker had 12 points and 10 rebounds, with 10 of his points coming in the fourth to help the Suns hang on after they surrendered a big lead (as they often did this season).
Two weeks earlier, in a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tucker secured a clutch offensive rebound with 26 seconds left that forced the Cavs to foul, trailing by three. Tucker iced the game at the foul line.
After the roster turnover of the trade deadline, Tucker was one of the few stabilizing presences amidst all the turmoil. He averaged 11.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game for the month of March, including two double-doubles and 11 double-digit scoring games. Tucker was also only one rebound away from a double-double three separate times in March.
Next: Final Grade
Grade: C
At this point, P.J. Tucker is who he is. He’ll never be a go-to scorer and at the age of 29, he’ll probably never make an NBA All-Defensive Team (especially on this Suns team). But despite his limitations as a basketball player, Tucker was probably the most consistently competitive player on the roster.
Tucker is a very good defender who uses brute force to defend numerous positions. Surrounded with the right defensive personnel, his versatility on that end would be a major asset. But with Tucker constantly having to guard stronger power forwards, he was often overpowered in the paint.
Tucker is a good rebounder for his position, and though his three-point shooting fell off a bit this season, he’s the closest thing this Suns team has to a veteran locker room presence right now.
“I know we need to win games, I know what it takes,” Tucker said after the Wizards game. “We got guys that can shoot the ball, that can finish at the basket, so getting those extra possessions, getting offensive rebounds when teams fall asleep, we want to be the best conditioned team in the league so going to the glass every single time….it’s the little stuff that wins games.”
That being said, isn’t it a tad worrisome that Tucker is this team’s closest thing to a leader? He may be one of the older players in Phoenix, but this was only his fourth season in the league. He’s never been a star player and between his technical fouls, missing the team bus and that offseason super extreme D.U.I., he hasn’t always set the best example for the younger guys.
Until the Suns get a player who’s been in a playoff environment before AND can still actively contribute and lead (sorry, Danny Granger), Tucker will continue to be labeled — and criticized — as a locker room leader. Though he leads by example on the court with his hustle plays, toughness and defensive intensity, sometimes he takes it too far and hurts the team.
@brentonl98 His defense, rebounding & energy are essential because the team often lacks in each of those areas. But they're high on Warren.
— Paul Coro (@paulcoro) February 8, 2015
The question heading into the 2015-16 season is whether T.J. Warren should get the start at small forward. Warren still has a long way to go as an NBA player, but he’s younger and represents the future. Unless the Suns make some big moves this summer, they won’t be contending for a title next season. Instead, they’ll be focusing on developing the young guys.
To that end, it might be better to pull the preemptive trigger and start Warren over Tucker next season. That would be unfortunate for Tucker, who has given this franchise nothing but 110 percent since he first arrived in Phoenix. But as the 2014-15 season showed us, this team can’t get to where it needs to go with P.J. Tucker starting at small forward.
More 2014-15 Phoenix Suns Player Grades:
Jerel McNeal
Danny Granger
Brandan Wright
Earl Barron
Marcus Thornton
T.J. Warren
Archie Goodwin
Alex Len
Marcus Morris
Gerald Green
Reggie Bullock
Next: Phoenix Suns: 10 Worst Moments Of 2014-15