No member of the Phoenix Suns has seized the role of backup point guard quite yet. Who has played the best thus far, and who deserves it?
“Water, water, everywhere, [but not a] drop to drink” is a famous line from a super-old poem that I never really understood growing up. However, after witnessing the Phoenix Suns’ backup point guard situation this season, its meaning becomes crystal clear.
To make the quote apply to the Suns, you might rephrase it like this:
“Back up point guards everywhere, but not a guy to play.”
If you include combo-guard Tyler Johnson, the Phoenix Suns have five point guards on their active roster. In addition to Johnson, there is Ricky Rubio, Ty Jerome, Elie Okobo, and Jevon Carter.
On top of that, the 15th man and current Northern Arizona Suns appointee, Jalen Lecque is a point guard, and oh, lest we forget two-way contract player, Jared Harper: Another point guard.
With all of these floor generals, you would naturally presume one would emerge from the pack over a quarter-way through the season, but unfortunately for the Suns, this has not been the case.
In spurts, each has shown signs of potential that might make Suns fans (or more importantly, Monty Williams) think the team has landed on a solid solution, only to have the rug ripped out from under that line of thinking a few games later.
After a frustrating loss to the Memphis Grizzlies Wednesday night, where rookie Ty Jerome manned backup point guard-duties with limited success, it may be time to reevaluate the Suns’ options for the vital role, because as much as a magician he might be, Ricky Rubio can’t play 48 minutes.
Ty Jerome
The Phoenix Suns were high on Ty Jerome when they moved draft spots for the privilege of selecting him in this year’s draft. The moved looked reasonable at the time. Not a slam-dunk pick, but not a bad one either. Reasonable.
During training camp, Jerome earned the praises of both Monty Williams as well as Devin Booker. He was in a battle with Jevon Carter for the role of backup point guard, but it looked like he might have eked ahead after a few strong preseason games.
Then, just a couple days before the first regular season game, Jerome suffered an ankle injury that sidelined him for a longer period than most anticipated.
During that time, the likes of Jevon Carter, Tyler Johnson, and Elie Okobo had spouts of varying success, which piqued the enthusiasm for the return of Ty Jerome.
It felt like a case of a fan base clamoring for a backup quarterback they have never really seen play, and unfortunately, Jerome’s return played out like most backup QB substitutions do: underwhelming.
Jerome has played six games for the Phoenix Suns, posting a modest stat line:
2.8 points per game
2.2 assists per game
1.7 rebounds per game
Save for the Orlando game where he had five turnovers, Jerome doesn’t make a ton of mistakes, but he hasn’t done much else either.
Call it recency bias, but it may be look at one of the Suns’ other many options.
Jevon Carter
The bulldog who eats rocks, Jevon Carter, started the season as the Phoenix Suns backup point guard with rave reviews.
Through the first four games, he was averaging double digits in scoring, and shooting 50% from behind the arc. On top of that, he was a defensive disrupter, logging five steals in those those first few games.
Then, well, his production sort of fell off a cliff.
He shot a mere 1 of 9 from the field including 0 of 6 from deep in his next four games as the backup point guard. It forced Monty to cut him out of the rotation, and relegated him to a bench hype man (something at which he is probably the best on the team).
Situationally, Carter has found his way back onto the court at times, and just like the first eight games of the year, he has played a bit streaky.
His overall numbers on the year:
3.9 points per game
1.8 assists per game
1.7 rebounds per game
It is reasonable to think Carter is what he is at this point: a guy with a low ceiling, average-height floor, and a killer instinct.
Elie Okobo
Second year guard Elie Okobo was a second-round draft pick for the Suns last year and has spent the majority of his time on the bench. Even when he entered the game, it has often been in garbage time, which the game is no longer in question one way or the other.
While it was understood the backup point guard battle was between Ty Jerome and Jevon Carter before the season started, it was equally understood Okobo would be a deep bench guy and not really compete for the spot.
However, after Carter was relegated to the pine, Jerome was still out with an ankle sprain, and Ricky Rubio suffered from back spasms, Okobo got some opportunities to play real minutes.
During a 5-game stretch in November, Okobo averaged over 20 minutes per game, and put up 9.6 points, 4.8 assists, and 2.2 rebounds per contest. After a diminished role in the next game, Okobo has since found himself back where he began the season, on the end of the bench.
What was more impressive than those numbers during his five-game playing stretch was his +/- stat. Okobo was +10.8 during those games, all of which were close save for match up against the Denver Nuggets.
His overall numbers:
3.9 points per game
2.4 assists per game
0.9 rebounds per game
It is easy to disregard Okobo as a viable option based on his lack of playing time, however, if you look at the numbers of when he played normal backup minutes, they aren’t that bad at all.
Tyler Johnson
This dude, man. It is hard to know what to say about Tyler Johnson. He has been all over the place both literally and figuratively.
He started off the season as the backup shooting guard to Devin Booker. Then he started as point guard when Ricky Rubio was suffering from back spasms. He has also played a fair amount as backup point guard when Rubio was healthy. Now he has found himself out of the rotation, hiding under a hoodie on the bench.
Overall, Johnson is having the worst statistical output of his career outside of his rookie year. He has been the subject of trade talks, and–let me rephrase that–his contract has been the subject of trade talks.
Johnson is in the final year of a very lucrative contract that will pay him $19.25 million this season, which puts him squarely into the category of vastly overpaid.
Williams may be sitting him because he knows he will likely be on the move soon, and doesn’t want him to continue to play poorly and hurt his trade value.
Then again, he might just be that disappointing. His numbers:
6.5 points per game
2.2 assists per game
1.8 rebounds per game
$19.25 million is a lot of money to sit on the bench, but if the production isn’t there, it is hard to justify playing a man simply because of his salary.
So, who should Monty Williams play?
All of this puts Monty Williams with a tough decision. With no clear leader for the role of backup point guard, should James Jones seek a player on another team? Perhaps a lingering free agent? Perhaps bring back Tyler Ulis?
What will probably happen is each player will get their run of four or five games and when they falter, it’ll be the next man up.
I’m not a huge fan of that strategy, but if no one plays the to level of owning that role, it is tough to just pick one for the sake of picking one.
If I was forced to pick one, I’d probably roll with Jevon Carter.
His defense in unmatched by any of the other options and with most of the other stat lines being equal, give me a bulldog to frustrate the opposing team’s backup point guard.
Even though he has limited ability to create his own offense, he has also shown the ability to knock down an open 3, and honestly, that is probably good enough.
But also, if I were James Jones, I’d be looking for a veteran point guard option out there. You know. Just in case.