Dragan Bender is being held back

On Offense

PHOENIX, AZ – NOVEMBER 19: Dragan Bender #35 of the Phoenix Suns shoots a free throw against the Chicago Bulls on November 19, 2017 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images)

Now, how is he being held back?

For starters, his outside shooting has improved tremendously over last season, however, he’s still not getting the number of shots that one might expect with the shooting percentage that he has.

Bender has the fourth best 3-Point shooting percentage on the team:
1. Dudley: 10-21 (47.6%)
2. Daniels: 48-112 (42.9%)
3. Booker: 16-162 (38.3%)
4. Bender: 30-83 (36.1%)#SUNSat50 https://t.co/XhIAxQe4FQ
— Valley of the Suns (@ValleyoftheSuns) December 9, 2017

While Bender hasn’t quite reached the point in his offensive development to be able to create that much for himself, and you can’t quite blame him for being a little tentative in doing so when he’s playing with two very accomplished and capable scorers in Booker and Warren, his 3-point shooting still warrants many more attempts from outside than he is currently getting.

The problem is that since he is not creating his own offense, the offense needs to come to him. The coaching staff needs to find a system that gets him more shots, and his teammates need to find a way to get those shots for him as well.

Personally, I would love to see him set more screens at the top of the arc off and role back for an open 3 when his defender follows the ball-handler. His size allows him to set picks for Booker or Warren, and when he rolls out to the top for an open shot he will nail a good percentage of them.

He is still, far too often, finding his way into a corner and hanging out there, not really doing much in the realm of assistance in breaking Booker and Warren open. If he could be set up to act in perpetual motion, then those screens and then open shots will become an extremely effective part of his game.

Certainly, the more 3-point shots he takes – and makes – the more the defense will respect his shooting and open the court for the cutters. This would space the court the way the team has been needing, they just need to find a way to get Bender in that position.

Personally I would like to get Bender to the point where he is taking a minimum of five 3-point shot attempts per game. He currently averages 3.1, although he’s only taken more than four twice all year.

The 3-point shooting is also only a portion of the offensive game that he could employ as I am a big fan of placing him in post-up situations against smaller players. His shooting is strong enough that the team can take advantage of those situations. Do they though? At the moment, no. But they should be.