Every Phoenix Suns player will make one New Year’s resolution in 2024.
Indeed, 2024 began a few days ago. However, as it is still only January 3 and yours truly has been ill for the past week, we will continue to use Larry David’s three-day statute of limitations for New Year’s. Furthermore, it’s a well-known fact that we all take a few days to recuperate from the festivities at the beginning of each year before beginning to work on our resolutions.
In light of this, it’s time to evaluate each of the 18 players on the Phoenix Suns roster to determine what kind of reasonable objectives they should each set for themselves. We’re going to make things as realistic as we can, meaning that each player will be able to achieve them, just like any other New Year’s resolution. Furthermore, nearly all of the New Year’s.
Theo Maledon: Start for the Suns now.
Maledon signed his third and last two-way contract with the Suns more than two weeks ago. The only realistic expectation for the rookie is that he will make his Suns debut, given the roster’s fullness and the fact that Josh Okogie, Jordan Goodwin, Eric Gordon, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal all dominate the backcourt minutes.
Udoka Azubuike: Continue to roll the rims
Azubuike’s rise to prominence and his ability to accumulate rotation minutes are commendable, on the one hand. However, it’s somewhat of a critique of the Suns’ center rotation outside of Jusuf Nurkic. Azubuike hasn’t exactly dazzled anyone, particularly in his last three games when he hasn’t played well. However, his instant effect as a rim roller has demonstrated how much the Suns require a third player in that mold at center.
Azubuike demonstrated this past season by shooting an incredible 94.4 percent from the rim. Among players who played in at least 35 games in a season, his 81.9 percent overall shooting percentage was also the highest in NBA history. In restricted He has a 76.5 percent shooting percentage from the field in Phoenix. I was reminded of how terrific that rim-rolling presence can be, especially on a squad like this, by that nasty poster dunk against the Houston Rockets.
Saben Lee: Don’t stop driving.
We thought about saying, “Maybe the Suns don’t trade for another backup point guard,” but Lee has no control over it. Saben Lee has had the opportunity to play, recording double-digit minutes against the Sacramento Kings, Rockets, and Charlotte Hornets as Goodwin was unable to establish dominance over that position. In those three games, he scored 16 points and dished out eight assists, so he did fairly well too.
Lee is again on the outside looking in as a result of Beal’s return, but in the minutes he does play, he wants to demonstrate to coach Frank Vogel the value of having a downhill driver at the backup position. With Book, Beal, and Kevin Durant, the Suns don’t require a typical floor general, but their bench minutes still need improvement.
One of the few players on the team who can drive and kick or attack closeouts is Lee. Vogel’s greatest chance of getting minutes is to remind him that he brings that dynamic to the table.
Bol Bol: Present a Bold New World to Vogel
Bol Bol has only played 19 minutes in total as of Monday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers. In his first game of 2024, he exceeded that, going 20 minutes with 11 points and 9 rebounds.
Bol’s coach and teammates were pleased by his performance, and they all pointed to “discipline” or “consistency” as the secret to maximizing his skill and length.
Damion Lee: Reenter the game
Just to refresh your memory, Damion Lee is not only a great guy in the locker room but he just had a season in which he shot 44.5 percent from three point range, which was the third-best percentage in the NBA. Along with this, he shot 40.3 percent above-the-break, 51 percent on corner threes, and 47 percent on catch-and-shoot threes. If that weren’t enough, among all players who attempted at least 40 shots, Lee also placed second in the NBA in terms of fourth-quarter 3-point efficiency (52.3 percent).
That seems like a player that may be helpful to this Suns squad, even in a packed backcourt rotation! Due to surgery on his right meniscus, Lee hasn’t participated in a single game; perhaps, he will return ..
Yuta Watanabe: Restart your corner threes.
Speaking of corner 3 shooters who haven’t played much, Yuta Watanabe hasn’t performed as well as he did the previous season. This year, he is shooting 32.9 percent from downtown, which is the lowest percentage in his career since his rookie season, after previously shooting a career-best 44.4 percent. What’s more, Watanabe’s percentage on corner threes dropped to only 32.3 percent in Phoenix from 51.4 percent, which was good for a top-10 NBA mark the previous season.
The main reason his minutes have vanished now is that he struggled so much during his early backup wing minutes. Watanabe puts up effort defensively, but he has trouble containing the ball and is frequently a step slow on rotations.
That’s not as much of a problem when he’s making threes, but his route to playing time will stay blocked if he can’t accomplish the one thing Phoenix signed him to do.
Jordan Goodwin: Make better choices for shots
Goodwin is just another Suns role player who has experienced extreme highs and lows over the team’s opening two to three months. Just a few weeks prior, Goodwin had been Phoenix’s offensive lifeblood in the fourth quarter, helping the team score points when neither KD nor Beal was hurt. In the present, he is only receiving garbage-time minutes, which makes room for Saben Lee’s minutes.
When Goodwin is open, he doesn’t hesitate to fire, in contrast to Okogie. The issue is that he’s only making 29.5 percent of his threes while shooting 36.9 percent overall. Worse yet, every thirty-six minutes, Goodwin launches five long-range attempts. That surpasses both Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal!
Although his recent shot selection has been questionable, at least the previous shots were dropping. Recently, they haven’t been, as Goodwin has lost playing time due to his forced looks and missed open threes:
