16. Who will be the surprise player off the Phoenix Suns’ bench?
With three rookies (Dragan Bender, Marquese Chriss, Tyler Ulis), a former starter (Leandro Barbosa), a local product (Alan Williams), and a young stud (Archie Goodwin), the Suns have several options to become a surprise bench player. Brandon Knight and P.J Tucker will be expected to take the lead in bench scoring and defensive play.
However, any one of the other five have the opportunity to average around ten points per game, or around five rebounds or assists per game, depending on play and position.
Smart money may be on Marquese Chriss or Archie Goodwin, but any of these players could conceivably come off the bench as the spark plug that helps bridge the gap between starting rotations.
15. Can Bender, Chriss, Len, and Chandler all play on the court at the same time?
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Throw Devin Booker into this mix and you have the ultimate tall-ball lineup. The Suns are a franchise perennially known for small-ball lineups, even as most recently as two seasons ago with Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe, and Isaiah Thomas.
But considering that Len has played power forward in the Suns system, and the possibility that Bender could be a point forward, moving him to the wing as a shooting guard would actually be plausible if the defensive matchups work out well enough.
PG – Booker
SG – Bender
SF – Chriss
PF – Len
C – Chandler
There would be a lot of rebounding in that lineup and once Bender and Chriss find their way in the offense, a tall-ball lineup isn’t a crazy idea and would be a lot of fun to see.