Outspoken former NBA player thinks enigmatic Sun can change series

With the Phoenix Suns having a dreadful postseason so far, plenty of NBA media personalities and former players have been quick to pile in on the team. Despite having what looked to be a favorable opening round matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the series has been anything but for the Suns.

Defensively the Timberwolves have taken it to another level, with Suns' head coach Frank Vogel having no way of getting Devin Booker and Kevin Durant free of Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Throw in some superb paint patrolling from center Rudy Gobert, and the Suns just have not found buckets easy to come by.

But former All-Star Gilbert Arenas is here with a suggestion, and that is for the Suns to turn to the enigmatic Bol Bol to get back in the series.

On the surface, this isn't as crazy a suggestion as it would normally sound. Bol did a fantastic job during the regular season of working his way into the rotation, to the point that coach Vogel trusted him to play 20 minutes in certain games. At times, that belief was repaid in good minutes where he stretched opponents with his outside shooting.

Yet Bol has only played garbage time minutes in the series so far, with Vogel seemingly afraid to turn the big man lose again. It makes sense, Bol is dreadful defensively and for all his enthusiasm, handles and general offensive abilities for a man of his size, the Suns run the risk of being exposed badly on the other end when he's on the court.

Arenas saying that Bol's skill level is unmatched is a stretch at best, but he actually makes a good point here. Individuals such as Josh Okogie, Nassir Little and Drew Eubanks, everybody knows what they are capable of, and in no way do any three look like their talents could change a series for the Suns.

Part of the Bol Bol experience is that at times even he doesn't look like he knows what he is going to do, and his random act has caught plenty of opponents out already this season and garnered him some notable fans across the league. On top of that, coach Vogel looked like he had figured out an effective way to hide Bol as well as he possibly could on the defensive end during the regular season.

If he plays with Kevin Durant and Jusuf Nurkic, then Bol doesn't need to spend time in the paint and can annoy the third or fourth scoring option for the Timberwolves with his outrageously long frame. There's no reason to at least try this, because the alternative to this point for the Suns has not been close to good enough to win this series.

The only problem with that is Anthony Edwards would surely hunt for Bol on every possession they shared the court together, while even McDaniels and Alexander-Walker have too much in their bag for him. Then again, it's not like a single Suns player has locked anybody up in this series, so how much worse could Bol be? That's the point Arenas is making, and he is not wrong.

Unfortunately though if the answer to win a series when you're supposed to be a contender is to turn to a player even the Orlando Magic didn't want to keep around after some flashes last season, then there is only so far you are going to go. That's not Bol's fault, and if ever there was a time to turn him loose for a bit, it is surely back in The Valley as fans there absolutely love him.