Cheers to the backup point guards
Carter Grade: A
Payne Grade: A-
It appears Monty Williams has finally found his backup point guards for the next six games. Cameron Payne and Jevon Carter hit a couple of big 3s during that 14-1 spurt that got the Suns back into the game during the third quarter, but they did more than just that.
Payne’s aggressiveness was huge coming off the bench, and while my instinct is to flinch a bit when I see he had 10 shots (more than Bridges, Ayton, and Saric), you have to appreciate the attack mentality.
As for Jevon Carter, I’m not sure how Monty Williams can keep him off the court. On top of his standard intense on-ball defense and knocking down of open shots, the Bulldog dished out five assists, one shy of his career-high. Moreover, he posted a +/- of +11 and during one exchange, got under the skin of Luka Doncic to the point of drawing an offensive foul from a frustrated elbow to the chest.
The man is absolutely relentless and is the exact type of player you love to have on your team, yet hate to play against.
Unless the Phoenix Suns drop multiple games and the bubble turns into the developmental team the Suns will soon no longer have, Ty Jerome and Elie Okobo may as well get comfortable on the sidelines. Payne and Carter have seized rotation minutes for their own.