Keys from the Suns’ first Summer League game

The Phoenix Suns began their development process as their 2017 Las Vegas Summer League schedule kicked off against the Sacramento Kings. Neither team was particularly efficient on the offensive end of the floor, but the Suns came out with the 89-85 victory. Here are some key takeaways:

Marquese has put on some muscle:

Suns fans who watched last night were most likely gleaming with excitement about the idea of a potentially 15 pound heavier Marquese Chriss.

The Suns have a lot of players that are interchangeable between the three and four positions. They need some who are interchangeable between the four and five.

Devin Booker came in to speak during half time and mentioned that Marquese needed to stop settling for three’s and needed to start banging in the paint.

The Amar’e Stoudemire comparisons began coming to fruition.

Those are the kinds of developments we want to hear from the high flying Chriss, he isn’t exactly a good enough three-point shooter to truly be considered a stretch four or five.

But, if he can develop a solid post game that other teams have to account for, it’ll be that much more impressive when those wide open threes come his way and he starts knocking them down.

Dragan Bender looks more confident:

Now this had both it’s pros and cons.

Bender dribbled the ball up the court as a point forward a few times during the night, but this didn’t always end up in the cleanest possessions.

However, he did look a lot more calm and effective when shooting the three ball.

The confidence in taking the shot is applauded, but Bender needs to become a lot more efficient if he is going to continue his development. 4/13 shooting will not cut it.

Davon Reed already looks like a steal:

The Suns most efficient player on the court was not a first round pick.

It happened to be Davon Reed who went for 17 points going  6/11 from the field including 2/4 from three. He also played decent defensive minutes, even coming up with two steals.

The most impressive moment though was his buzzer beating three to close the first quarter.

Davon knows he is going to need to impress now to hold on to the Suns backup shooting guard position, and this game was a good opening impression.

Josh Jackson puts in work:

Josh Jackson, although not as efficient throughout the game, still did his part with 18 points and 8 rebounds.

The questions about his jump shot still remain, as that strange form still caused a couple of bricks.

His slashing ability was unquestioned though throughout the game, moving without the ball and cutting to the basket with ease.

Still, even as an NBA ready defender, there are some clear offensive holes in his game that will only get better with more playing time.

His continued development will be crucial to our ‘Core Four’ of Booker, Jackson, Chriss, and Bender.

In conclusion:

Clearly there are some questions that need to be answered, but for now, the young Suns are just fun to watch.

Continuing to watch our youth grow and develop chemistry together is part of the fun of having a young team.

Here’s hoping the next game we continue to watch more increased development.