The power forward position is young for the Phoenix Suns this season. Fans should not be surprised if one of them makes a bigger splash than expected.
The Phoenix Suns have a trio of young power forwards going into this season. Two of which were drafted in the lottery during last year’s draft, while the other was drafted in the second round of this year’s draft. While each of these players have bright futures ahead of them, at what rate will they reach their peaks is yet to be determined. The one bold prediction about the power forward position is that whenever Alec Peters plays for the Suns this season, he will out perform European big Dragan Bender.
Let’s be clear, I do not think Peters will have better stats or will get more playing time than Bender. However, I do believe Peters will look better on the floor and be more effective than Bender. With that being said, Bender’s still the better long term prospect by far between the two of them.
More from Suns News
- Ranking the Phoenix Suns’ 5 holiday games in 2023-24
- Zion Williamson gets compared to Phoenix Suns legend
- Suns player preview: Bol Bol can be the perfect role player
- Former Suns’ guard shows he is officially done with Phoenix
- NBA insider guarantees Suns’ rival won’t make blockbuster trade
Bender’s less than stellar play in the Euro FIBA indicates that he will most likely see a reserve role like he did in his first year. Peters’ signed a two-way contract so his time with the Suns will be even more limited than Bender’s. Trying to get a baseline for these two players is less than ideal based on the level of competition they faced before entering the NBA, but here is how they did in per 36 minutes and per 40 minutes stats.
These are Bender’s per 36 stats when he played for Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv, in Euroleague and Eurocup.
| Season | Club | League(s) | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 86 | 2.5 | 10.9 | .231 | 0.8 | 5.0 | .167 | 1.7 | 5.9 | .286 | 0.4 | 0.8 | .500 | 1.3 | 3.8 | 5.0 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 4.6 | 6.3 | ||||
| 2015-16 | Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv | Eurocup | 3 | 12 | 0.0 | 24.0 | .000 | 0.0 | 12.0 | .000 | 0.0 | 12.0 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 0.0 | ||
| 2015-16 | Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv | Euroleague | 7 | 74 | 2.9 | 8.8 | .333 | 1.0 | 3.9 | .250 | 1.9 | 4.9 | .400 | 0.5 | 1.0 | .500 | 1.0 | 3.9 | 4.9 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 3.9 | 7.3 |
These are Peters’ per 40 stats during his senior year at Valparaiso.
| Season | School | Conf | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | Valparaiso | Horizon | 29 | 29 | 1019 | 8.6 | 18.4 | .466 | 6.3 | 12.1 | .519 | 2.3 | 6.3 | .363 | 6.8 | 7.6 | .887 | 11.5 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 26.1 |
| Career | Valparaiso | 134 | 134 | 4250 | 7.4 | 15.3 | .487 | 4.7 | 8.7 | .539 | 2.7 | 6.5 | .416 | 4.5 | 5.3 | .846 | 9.4 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 22.1 |
Provided by CBB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 9/21/2017.
They may not be quite the same stats, it does paint a very stanch difference between the two. Please remember Peters played at a mid-major college and Bender played against some of Europe’s best players, so Bender’s low stats are slightly more understandable. Even though the competition between the two players are vastly different, one would think the gap between these two players wouldn’t be so wide.
Peters is 22 years-old, where as Bender is only 19 years-old. Peters is much more mature and basketball savvy than Bender. It’s that simple, and like I said earlier I do expect and hope that Bender will be the better player long term versus Peters. Based on age, experience, and advance stats, I do expect Peters to look better when playing with the Suns than Bender will this season.
Next: Which Suns teams could have won it all
Please remember that it is unlikely that Peters will average more than Bender this season, but this prediction solely based on that Peters’ advance stats will be better than the European big man’s.