For Archie Goodwin, this year marks his third in the NBA, despite the fact that he still is just 20 years old. And one would have to think with 12 games and nearly 310 minutes of NBA Summer League action under his belt, Goodwin would be more than capable of dominating the lesser competition, despite his youth.
However, for some, the Suns’ Summer League opener brought just as many questions as answers.
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In the Phoenix Suns’ victory over the Washington Wizards Goodwin finished with 22 points and five rebounds, which was certainly nothing to scoff at, but he also had his fair share of woes. Goodwin committed five fouls and three turnovers; he was 1-of-4 from three and shot worse than 50 percent from the field; and he was the only Suns player to have a negative plus/minus.
Like everyone else on the court, Goodwin came out of the gates a little rusty, but he still could have been a lot tighter with his handle. As the Summer League progresses it’ll be interesting to follow that aspect of his game, in addition to seeing how he shoots from distance, because he definitely struggled in both of those areas on Saturday.
The Bad
Archie Goodwin was absolutely terrorized by Kelly Oubre Jr. in the first quarter. Having the opportunity to cover the Jayhawks last year, I can certainly attest that Oubre was a strong on-ball defender, but Goodwin went out there and made him look like Kawhi Leonard.
Let’s go to the film:
The first time Goodwin really tried to make something happen with the ball in his hands, Oubre was able to play right up on him and knock the ball out-of-bounds, as you can see above. However, it was what happened on the rest of that possession that really told the greater story.
With less than 10 seconds remaining on the shot clock, Oubre poked the ball away from Goodwin, forcing him to give up the ball. Goodwin got the ball back, but Oubre was right there to (first) knock the ball away and (second) force a shot clock violation.
Simply put, Goodwin was not at all prepared to handle Oubre’s massive length. And sure, Oubre’s 7’3″ wingspan isn’t typical for a backcourt player, and it makes him quite imposing, but Goodwin still should’ve fared better against a rookie.
Lil'bit https://t.co/lUgAVOtAs9
— Eric Saar (@Eric_Saar) July 11, 2015
And this was a game-long occurrence.
Phoenix maintained a comfortable margin for most of the outing, but Goodwin still couldn’t shake Oubre, at least until the final minute, but we’ll get to that in a moment.
In the meantime, it’s worth noting that this happened on both sides of the ball. Oubre shot a less-than-stellar percentage from the field, but that was due to (1) the amount of his shots that were blocked by the Phoenix’s big men and (2) what I assume were his nerves coming into the game, as he missed a few uncontested looks, not to mention a bunch of free throws.
On one of the first possessions of the game, Oubre froze Goodwin with a pump fake and drove right by him to draw a foul, and once again, this was a recurring theme. Oubre got by Goodwin on multiple occasions, which led to a busy night for Alex Len, who finished with seven combined blocks and fouls.
And really, for the entire game, the Washington guards had no problem scoring the ball.
Four Washington players reached double figures in scoring; three of them were guards. That certainly wasn’t all Archie Goodwin’s fault, or even mostly his fault, but coming into his third SL, he should be the guy stepping up, and not the guy getting burned off the dribble by the 15th pick in this year’s draft.
The Good
But it wasn’t all bad for Archie Goodwin. In fact, he even excelled in some areas.
Goodwin knocked down this three to start the second quarter, and as you might notice, his shot looked a little different than it had in past years.
Yep and therefore no hitch in the release https://t.co/xgNfGqXT7J
— Eric Saar (@Eric_Saar) July 11, 2015
Archie Goodwin still smoothing out his stroke. Hit a pretty 3 with no hitch, but it comes back last two mid-range shots.
— Kevin Zimmerman (@KZimmermanAZ) July 11, 2015
If you’re wondering what “hitch” might be in reference to, you can look at the following screen caps, to see an example of Goodwin shooting from a regular season NBA game against the Kings. Note the awkward way in which Goodwin brings the ball across his body:
Regardless of whether or not the awkward motion was always present throughout the game, it at least appears to be an area that Goodwin has worked on in the offseason.
At the NBA level, Goodwin is a career 22.1 percent three-point shooter, making just 17 of his 77 three-point attempts. And it’s not like he was great in the D-League either. Playing for the Bakersfield Jam, Goodwin made just 27.1 percent of his three-point attempts last year, dropping his career D-League three-point percentage to 31.1 percent.
However, it may be worth it to wait and see if Goodwin has developed a jumper. Perhaps he got the hint from the Suns, who have brought in several shooting wings in this calendar year alone.
Back in January, the Suns traded for Reggie Bullock, who was shooting 38.5 percent from three on the year with the Clippers. In June, they drafted Devin Booker, who shot over 40 percent from three in college the year before. And just a few days ago, they signed Sonny Weems, who shot 40.1 percent from three last year in Europe.
But back to the game, Goodwin also spent his fair share of time slashing, which he has become fairly good at over the past couple of years. Of his six made field goals, three of them were layups, not to mention the fact that five of his nine two-point field goal attempts came at the rim, counting one that had to feel especially sweet.
With one minute and change left in the contest, Goodwin blew right by Oubre, giving the Suns a decisive 12-point lead. As I mentioned, Goodwin finished with a game-high 22 points, not to mention he knocked down nine of his 11 free throw attempts.
And really, the third quarter was where Goodwin flashed most of his ability. He scored eight points, but should have had at least a couple more, as he left points on the table by missing some free throws. He was active on defense, and he was aggressive looking for his own shot.
Now he needs to play like that all time.
Performance Grade: B
Next: Five Suns Players To Watch At The Summer League