Phoenix Suns 12 Days of Christmas – Day 4: Four legitimate points guards
By Adam Maynes
The Phoenix Suns’ 12 Days of pre-Christmas should not just be about things that fans of the franchise should wish for, but things that they are thankful for as well.
For a short period of time, the Arizona State University Sun Devils Men’s basketball team was known as Guard U. However, the Phoenix Suns have long been associated with point guards throughout it’s entire history, dating back to future Hall of Famer Gail Goodrich selected in the expansion draft prior to the franchise’s inaugural season.
Over it’s history, the franchise has boasted Hall of Fame-level talent at the position for nearly every season since, including Dennis Johnson, Kevin Johnson, Jason Kidd, and Steve Nash.
But after Isaiah Thomas, Goran Dragic, and Eric Bledsoe all took their talents East, the Phoenix Suns had been sans point guards of note since.
Until this season.
Arguably the most important position on a basketball roster, without a legitimate starting point guard since October 21, 2017 (Bledsoe’s last game in Phoenix), the franchise had gone 40-121).
But since the addition of Ricky Rubio (plus the loss of some and gain of others), the Suns are finally a competitive team once again.
Rubio too is tearing it up statistically (except for his 3-point shooting, more on that momentarily), currently averaging 9.6 assists per game, which – if it held up over the course of the season – would be the best assists average by an individual player since Nash’s 10.7 per game in 2011-12.
But having a legitimate starting point guard is only one piece to the position’s puzzle.
Tyler Johnson‘s addition late last season gave the team solid veteran depth at the position (albeit not his primary position) that has thus served the team well.
A veteran of six-seasons, even with his playing time diminished this season, he has played in clutch situations throughout his career, including ten playoff games with the Miami Heat, five of those, starts.
A likely trade piece in a blockbuster deal at some point this season due to his massive, expiring, contract, he probably will not be around when the team (hopefully) makes a late-season push toward the playoffs themselves, therefore unable to lend a steady and experienced hand during a time that is otherwise new to the majority of the young roster.
However, if he is still in the Valley and the Suns make a playoff push, there is no other point guard besides Rubio who Phoenix would want controlling the ball late in a game, probably preferring to look to pass on the wing to Devin Booker, or in the post to Deandre Ayton.
That is not to say, though, that backups Elie Okobo or Jevon Carter are pushovers at the position; in fact, they have been pretty good in 2018-19 thus far.
Both second-year pros, the two point guards are each solid scorers in their own right, particularly above-average from the outside, a trait that the team is leaning very heavily on this season.
Carter is averaging 38.9% from 3 this year while Okobo is shooting a solid 37.0%, a skill that plays very well in lineups without the starter Rubio, who is unfortunately not a good shooter from 3 at all (30.4% right now, his lowest since 2014-15).
While Carter started two games in Rubio’s absence earlier in the year, neither he nor Okobo are talented enough overall to handle the starting job with any regularity – yet.
Okobo, though, was drafted as a potential future starting point guard, and at only 22-years-old still, and some obvious improvement this season over his rookie year, he may very well develop into a starter (or at worst, a very solid reserve) by potentially as early as next season.
If even not, both his and Carter’s scoring capability in a pinch will work well for this team as the group continues to remain in the thick of the playoff race and may need one of them to be on the court late in a situation where a 3 is desperately needed (truthfully, I personally wish that either one of them had been in in the final seconds against the Portland Trailblazers as the only person on the court who should not have been taking a potential game-winning shot was Rubio, and yet he was the one who took it).
For the 12 Days of pre-Christmas, fans should be very thankful for James Jones‘ ability to land three point guards (with Okobo having been drafted by Ryan McDonough), depth at the position that the franchise has needed for two years.
Although, hopefully he can still add one more before long, a veteran true point guard who will help right the ship whenever Ricky Rubio is out, or resting.