3 Reasons the time is now to bring Bradley Beal off the bench

The Phoenix Suns have entered December still within touching distance of the top of the Western Conference, and they may also have extended involvement in the Emirates NBA Cup to look forward to. Not a bad return for head coach Mike Budenholzer after his first few months in the job.

The team have had injury setbacks - most notably to Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal - but the organization has done a nice job of rolling with the punches and settling on a rotation that has largely repaid the the Suns have put in them. Guys like Tyus Jones, Ryan Dunn and Royce O'Neale a far cry from what the team was dealing with at this stage last season.

The topic of Beal coming off the bench needs to be readdressed though.

Which is ironic because so far this season, Beal has looked as good as he ever has since landing in Phoenix last summer. Defensively he's locked in, while on the other end he has found his spot as the third option who also goes off in spurts himself. How he is used in the rotation also appears to suit his style of play. Despite this, let's look at why the time is now to have him come off the bench.

3. He can be the man

O'Neale has done a wonderful job as the sixth man in Phoenix so far this season, beating out Grayson Allen to the role. He has made it his own by making enough 3-pointers to keep defenders honest, while he is also capable of heating up in a hurry. A staple of the best offensive bench players in the league.

As great as all of that is, Beal can do all of that but to a higher standard than O'Neale. He's the better 3-point shooter, is capable of playmaking some (even if last season's no point guard idea was a disaster) and on the defensive end has rapidly closed the gap too. He might not be viewed as the better defender - and he gives up a bit more size - but Beal is flat out underrated at this point.

The prospect of Beal leading a second unit or come in midway through the first-quarter to join forces with Durant and Devin Booker is an exciting one. Great players always believe they should start - but if coach Budenholzer is looking out for the betterment of the team - then having one of his three best players be the first man off the bench makes a ton of sense.

The obvious issue is the fact Beal is making $50 million this season alone, but the other side of that coin could be that it makes one of O'Neale or Allen expendable. The Suns could get something that could help them win now back for either of these guys, and as a second apron team the money they make allows them to enter into trade talks they currently cannot if they're not available.

2. Grayson Allen is ready for the opportunity

If you go back to last season, Allen was the player who stepped up when Beal was injured. Which happened far more regularly than the franchise would have liked. He started 74 games and led the entire league in 3-point shooting, at 46.1 percent. Allen was the Suns' third best player, but they were lacking in depth so he started even when Beal was healthy.

The introduction of Jones changed all that, with Allen willingly giving up his starting spot so the team had a floor general out there. Noble as that was, Allen also likely didn't think O'Neale would so easily jump him in the pecking order to be the sixth man. Which has seen the swingman with the killer shot from deep slip through the cracks in this rotation.

But a recent start for Allen in a win over the Golden State Warriors - in which he most certainly played his part - showed that he can be a part of a winning group from the jump. We have enough evidence now to see that starting just suits Allen and his 3-point shot better, and that is likely because both Booker and Durant give him a ton more room to operate.

Which sort of ties in with the Beal coming off the bench point. Which he would have to do in order for Allen to start. But with the starting group not suffering too much with Allen out there - and in some ways it improves - plus Beal's game translating better off the bench, the Suns actually have a replacement to turn this plan into reality right away.

1. Beal's injury history

Without doubt the biggest reason to do this, and unsurprisingly it is because of Beal's injury history. He was limited to just 53 regular season games last year, and already has missed time with a calf strain and an ankle issue. That's just who Beal is going to be for the rest of his career, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing.

If coach Budenholzer looked at this logically, he'd see that the constant starting and subsequent sitting out by Beal is disrupting the flow and chemistry of the starting five. If Beal could prove he could stay healthy for even two straight months, then perhaps we wouldn't even be having this conversation.

Right now that doesn't look possible though, and it is unlikely that it ever will again. So why not have a more consistent starting group - with Allen in there to begin with - and treat Beal almost like a bonus when he is available. The Suns won the trade that jettisoned Chris Paul in order to obtain him, so it's not like there would be any negative pushback for that reason.

This would also put less pressure on Beal to get back out there, and the Suns could play him less as well. Entering the postseason with Beal healthy would be a huge boost, and having him come off the bench would appear to be the best way to make that happen. The franchise seriously has to consider this if they plan on being the team they believe they are, which is a real contender when healthy.