Dario Saric – The Phoenix Suns’ X-Factor

Every team has one. Call him an “X-Factor.” He is the player on a roster, generally a non-star, who’s play can make all the difference for his team. For the Phoenix Suns, that player is Dario Saric.

In their blowout victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Dario Saric scored 20 points, the second time this season that he has scored at least 20 (23 points in a November 14, 16-point victory over the Atlanta Hawks).

Thus the Phoenix Suns are 2-0 when Saric has scored at least 20 points this season.

Sure, those two individual high-scoring games came against current non-playoff teams, but not only are they 2-0 when he scores at least 20 points, but a respectable 3-3 when he scores between 15-19 points, and a lowly 6-9 when he scores anything less.

Of course this does not mean that if he were to drop 20 points every game that the Suns would win out.

But what this does illustrate is the team’s need for another scorer, and the success they have when Saric scores enough to keep the opposition honest.

Let’s not be unreasonable too. This is the NBA. Teams need multiple scorers to keep defenses off-balance, and stars need others around them to relieve said stars of some of their scoring pressure.

In the case of the Phoenix Suns, Devin Booker needs help – and he needs more than just Kelly Oubre and Deandre Ayton.

Oubre is a pure scorer. He is going to average about 15 points a game without hesitation, using his outside shot to set up his potent slashes to the rim.

Ayton, on the other hand, is only going to score from the post and on put-backs. He’s more of a human garbage man in terms of his scoring based on his lack of a proclivity to physically wear down opponents physically – as illustrated by his ridiculously low free throw rate for a bounding center such as he.

What Booker and the Suns need is another true  scorer, someone who is going to force defenses out onto him on a one-on-one setting, and put the fear of points into them when left open for even the slightest amount of time.

This is what Saric can  do, but not what he does regularly.

When he does  score, he creates a balance that defenses cannot counter, allowing both Booker and Oubre to play more of their game which is predicated on athleticism and flash. Ayton will still get his in the post, but at least at that rate there are three scorers around the outside who potentially could fill up a stat sheer at any one time.

Adding Saric to that mix of solid scorers, also helps to guarantee that an open shot will  be taken during the fluidity of the passing of the Ricky Rubio-led, Monty Williams offense (the team obviously too cannot count on Ricky Rubio to score based on his absolute inability to shoot from the outside with any modicum of NBA-level consistency).

This is what makes Dario Saric the team’s X-Factor.

If he can make himself into that fourth scorer, the Phoenix Suns will hava offensive depth easily not seen since 2009-10.

It’s not just being able to “put up points” though. It’s being able to do so consistently. It’s about being an offensive threat.

This is actually exactly why I have said that the Phoenix Suns should make a trade for a star power forward, one who is a competent and potentially lethal scorer, at the cost of Saric – at least as a starter.

The truth of it is, he is just far too inconsistent of a scorer to rely on him to help make the starting lineup that much more balanced.

In fact, I think that Saric would be a GREAT bench player – ala what T.J. Warren should have been – behind a power forward who is able to fill it up.

Whether that player is Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Lauri Markkanen, or someone else entirely, is irrelevant. Any one of them would be a more consistent scorer, and unless Saric was included in the deal to acquire one of them, he would be the perfect stretch-four compliment off the bench.

James Jones should be looking to upgrade the roster as best as possible, including improving power forward. He too should not look at Dario Saric’s good game against the Minnesota Timberwolves as an excuse for potentially holding on to him or not making a trade for an improved power forward should the opportunity arise.

However, if Saric can become a more consistent scorer (remember – he averaged 14.6 points per game in his second season and was the fourth highest scorer on a team that made it to the semifinals), he will surely be the X-Factor that this roster needs now, and for the rest of the season, if they are going to remain in the playoff picture.