The ideal starting lineup for the Phoenix Suns

Power Forward – Trevor Ariza

I know that Ryan Anderson is a “power forward” and that Trevor Ariza has never really played “power forward” but that doesn’t mean that he can’t guard a “power forward,” that his outside shooting wouldn’t be a tremendous asset to the offense as it would stretch a big out to him, and that pushing Ryan Anderson to the bench would make the roster that much deeper.

It needs to happen and honestly I am disappointed that I have not seen it yet this preseason, even with Devin Booker out.

Ryan Anderson is not known for his defensive prowess. In fact, quite the opposite. He is known for being a very poor defender.

Trevor Ariza, on the other hand, is known as a defensive stud and at 6’11”, I am confident that he’d be able to handle anyone that the opposition throws at him at any one time.

But more importantly, starting Ariza pushes Ryan Anderson to the bench, giving that bench unit an additional above average 3-point shooter which I believe gives the team a much better shot – no pun intended – at winning.

The advantage to having a strong bench is that there isn’t quite the drop-off between the starting until and the bench unit, which means that teams can constantly keep pressure on the opposition.

While Anderson has been a starting power forward for many years, he’s reached a point in his career that he must shift from the starting lineup and more to – at least, that he is now on a team where he would be best suited for – a bench role.

Trevor Ariza needs to be the starting power forward, and his best friend and former Houston cohort needs to be coming off the bench.