2. Improve Defensively
Remember how we mentioned that Archie Goodwin has two major flaws as an NBA player? The other one is defense. Like, all of it. Perimeter defense, defensive intensity, help-side defense, anticipating passes for steals, challenging opponents’ shots for blocks…you name it. If there’s a defensive statistic for it, there’s a chance it doesn’t look great on Goodwin’s part.
According to NBA.com, his 107.1 defensive rating was worse than everyone else on the Suns’ roster except for Zoran Dragic, who played a grand total of 13 minutes in Phoenix. Among the Suns’ actual rotational players, Goodwin’s D-Rating was the worst by far.
Simply put, this kind of defensive effort is exactly what Suns fans saw for most of the 2014-15 season:
That play above came from Summer League play, which means that if Goodwin is giving up drives like this while in such a lazy defensive stance — to a rookie, no less — he’s still in desperate need of improvement on defense.
Last season, opponents defended by Goodwin only shot 0.2 percent better from the field than they’d normally shoot, per NBA.com, so he’s capable of challenging shots. The problem is, that statistic doesn’t account for all the instances Goodwin’s man completely blew by him and got to the basket.
For Goodwin to earn head coach Jeff Hornacek‘s trust, he’ll really have to start putting in the effort on the defensive end of the floor.
Next: No. 1