During the month of November, the Phoenix Suns saw exactly what they thought they would see from their young offensive star.
The month of November is over and even though there are still more questions than answers with this Phoenix Suns roster, fans have a much firmer grasp of what to expect out of the clubs’ current players. With a full month under interim head coach Jay Triano, players were able to settle into their roles much better and this top five players of the month should set a strong precedence going forward into the season.
No. 5
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After a strong outburst to begin his career with Phoenix and gaining the number one ranking in last month’ top five ranking; rookie Mike James‘ game has evened out and has fallen to the number five ranking for this month. One of the biggest reason’s for James’ drop to number five is the fact that he couldn’t hold onto the starting gig. Even though he isn’t starting, James has been a great scorer off the bench for the Suns. James is probably only behind Warren and Booker on the team creating his own offense. For the month James averaged 10.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 0.3 blocks and 0.8 steals.
No. 4
Even though he didn’t play in a few games during November, Alex Len still ranks fourth on this list for a second straight month. Len has fought through a tough last couple of months, signing a qualifying offer and dealing with inconsistent time with two legit centers on the active roster. Len’s rebounding has been key in keeping the team as the number one rebounding team in the league. During November, Len posted the averages of 8.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 1.1 blocks and 0.4 steals.
No. 3
As the new man in town, Greg Monroe made a solid impact in a limited number of games with the Suns. After being traded to the Suns, Monroe had to deal with injury until he played his first game for the Suns against the Houston Rockets. For the rest of the month, Monroe averaged a solid 11.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.4 blocks and 0.7 steals. Hopefully Monroe can continue this strong play to help the Suns either in the long term future or to help build up his trade stock.
No. 2
Usually winning two player of the week awards for a single month would be enough to be top ranked player of the month. After ranking third for the month of October, T.J. Warren stepped up his game in November and averaged 19.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.9 blocks and 0.8 steals. November was a breakout month for Warren scoring wise and would in most cases get him the number one ranking for this month. However, one player outshines Warren by the slimmest of margins.
Honorable Mention
Before naming the top player of the month, Dragan Bender gets the honorable mention. Bender has shown improvement over this season from his rookie season and November showed just how much he improved. Bender averaged 5.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.3 blocks and 0.3 steals. The numbers might not have the wow factor, but video shows how he has improved.
The video above is of Bender’s highest scoring game of the month. Bender showed toughness down low, post moves, 3-point shooting and the ability to drive in this game. If Bender can continue to have games like this more consistently then he will validate his high draft selection.
No. 1
Devin Booker barely beat out Warren for the top spot for this month, but numbers don’t lie. Booker averaged 23.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 0.3 blocks and 0.9 steals. More importantly he had six games during the month where he scored 30-plus points. Booker had a disappointing month of October by ending the month ranked number two top five players of the month. However, the face of the franchise bounced back with a player of the week award and with the slight increase of scoring.
Next: Phoenix Suns trade targets at point guard and center positions
The Phoenix Suns and their players saw a much more solid month in November. December is underway and only time will tell if there will be a shake up in this month’s rankings. These Suns showed heart with their play and deserve their top five ranking for the month. Agree or disagree? Comment your opinion below of which players should get a top five ranking for November.