One Phoenix Suns player who can open his season much like Larry Fitzgerald
By Adam Maynes
Drumroll please…
While Ricky Rubio was hands down the most important acquisition of the offseason, Dario Saric is arguably the second-most important.
Point guard was absolutely the more pressing need, however, Saric is projected to step in as a solid and possibly even game-changing power forward for the Phoenix Suns – the like’s of which the franchise has not had since Amar’e Stoudemire.
While STAT changed the game with his powerful and explosive athleticism, what will make Saric so valuable is his ability to stretch the floor and drain 3’s.
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As a stretch-four, Saric is likely to spend the majority of his time beyond the arc allowing Ayton to man the post unencumbered which will thus help the center’s game – something Stoudemire never learned to do.
However, regardless of how his game affects Ayton, his shooting could be the thing that makes this offense flow in a way not seen in many years – and make him a favorite of Ricky Rubio’s.
If you take out his poor 13 games he played for Philadelphia last season as an anomaly, in 2017-18 with the Sixers, and 2018-19 with the Timberwolves, Saric shot 38.9% from beyond the arc on 652 attempts, an average of 4.46 attempts per game.
In those just-under-two-seasons, he too averaged only 12.7 per game, although only 10.6 (overall) in 2018-19 after averaging 14.6 with the Sixers the year prior – his sophomore season.
He now comes to the Phoenix Suns, who are very likely looking to have a pass-happy offense with Rubio running the show; who are looking to turn around their abysmal 3-point shooting percentage of the last two seasons, and who will probably enter the realm of the big shooters in the league, averaging well over 30 attempts per game as a team.
*Remember when Igor Kokoskov said he wanted the Suns to average 30 attempts per game last season? They finished close, although just short, at 29.3. Five years ago, that would have been the second-highest average in the league.
Last year they finished 23rd overall – and 30th in percentage at 32.9.
Expect both of those numbers to rise this season – led by Saric.