Phoenix Suns Long Term Goal: Learn to Balance out the Talent
This goal for the Suns plays as something of a “two parter” to their short term one. With Phoenix’s main players (hopefully) returning soon, the team will have an embarrassment of riches at several positions.
When Ayton and company all went out, those who filled in for them have done so quite well. In this latest stretch with Ayton unavailable, Bismack Biyombo has averaged 14.1 points and 10.4 rebounds per game while shooting 64.5 percent from the field.
Stepping up for Crowder multiple times this year as a starter, Cameron Johnson has scorched opposing teams left and right. In starting 10 games for Phoenix this season, Johnson has averaged 16.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game. He also put up highly efficient .545/.500/.857 shooting splits.
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Even the deep bench guys like Ish Wainright have come on lately. Last night vs the Spurs, the former dual-athlete at Baylor scored 10 points while shooting 4-8 from the field. He also came away with two rebounds, two blocks, an assist, and a steal.
We also cannot forget how well Shamet played Friday night against the Timberwolves, adding 17 points while shooting 4-8 from deep. A few months back before suffering a stress reaction, Frank Kaminsky had also been playing the best basketball of his career.
It would be foolish for Phoenix to just throw all that firepower aside when or if their regular rotation guys return. Too much talent is a good problem to have, but Monty Williams will need to pull off a balancing act for the ages if he wants to get the best out of this loaded roster.
As guys come back and the regular season games begin to become less important, watch for him to try and experiment with some different lineups. Some might not look pretty at times and wield less fruitful results, but it will be important for Monty to figure out who works best together before the postseason tips off.