Phoenix Suns top five players of the month: A core is forming
While the Phoenix Suns record from February was poor, the club’s young core was starting to form into a cohesive unit going forward.
February was a tough month for fans when it comes to the Phoenix Suns‘ record for the month. The Suns’ record was abysmal going 1-10 during February. However, while the team struggled to win games, there were glimpses of what the Suns should look like going forward. Players began to fulfill potential and the roster seems to be in a good place. The young players are starting to play well and forming a cohesive core together.
Phoenix Suns
No. 5
The role of playmaking stretch big man appears to go to Dragan Bender. It’s not clear yet which big man position is best for the European product, though I’ve advocated in the past that he should be the team’s center going forward. Bender has produced much better numbers in February, including reaching a new career high in points. For the month, Bender averaged 10.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.8 blocks and 0.3 steals. This is Bender’s second appearance in the top five player of month, with his first as an honorable mention back in November’s rankings.
No. 4
This is the lowest ranking T.J. Warren has received this season. He had a slight dip in production, but that had to do more with the other players than himself. However, they’ll be brought up later. During February, Warren averaged 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.6 blocks and 1.4 steals. These are still overall solid numbers and this could be what fans could see next season from Warren if he’s delegated to the bench then.
No. 3
In January, Josh Jackson was ranked third in the top five players of the month rankings and this past month he continued to validate his value as the fourth pick with another strong month of play. Last month he averaged 17.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.1 blocks and 0.8 steals. Jackson only had two games last month where he scored in single digits and set a new career high in points. He’s showing he can be an above average two-way player for the Suns. If Jackson can continue to play like this for the rest of the season, there should be little doubt that he will supplant Warren as the starter next season.
No. 2
Phoenix Suns fans have had some relief with seeing above average play at the point guard position with Elfrid Payton. Seeing as Payton was with the Orlando Magic until the trade deadline, his stats will only be from his time with the Suns during February. When playing with the Suns during last month, Payton averaged 17.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 0.1 blocks and 1.0 steal. If Payton continues to play like this, then he should be in the Suns’ future as the team’s pass first point guard.
Honorable Mention
Alex Len‘s future with the franchise isn’t clear, but he did have a solid February. He averaged 8.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.0 block and 0.7 steals last month. Even if Len doesn’t return to the Suns, he should be able to find work else where as a backup.
No. 1
Even though Devin Booker missed four games this past month, he was still good enough to get first place in these rankings. Booker is the franchise star and it would take a breakout performance from someone else to remove him from the top spot. For the month of February Booker averaged 27.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 0.4 blocks and 0.6 steals. Stats likes these should result in wins down the line once the team becomes more balanced.
Next: The Phoenix Suns see potential in Harrison
Minus Len, all of the rest of the players in these rankings have a defined role with the Phoenix Suns for the future. While the Suns’ still need to fill in the gaps, these young players appear to have found a place in the Suns’ future.