Suns mid-season report

The Phoenix Suns are in a full rebuild. They reached the halfway point of the 2016-17 NBA season with a record of 13-28, last in the Western Conference. The Suns are young and their defense is sketchy. Phoenix was 26th of 30 in defensive rating after 41 games.

Is it possible for the Suns to be better NOW? Are they in touch with reality? Who are the five most efficient at each position? And, which players have defensive ratings better than the team defrtg? These are the questions we will answer in our Hoop Obsession mid-season report.

Booker gives the Suns hope.

There are many reasons the Suns are losing. Most of the reasons are directly related to inexperience. They have two 19 year-olds, a 20 year-old, and two 23 year-olds among the eleven players who log the most minutes for them.

While Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender may one day be accomplished NBA players, they are presently low-efficiency rookies. Even as great as Devin Booker's highlights look, his Hoop Obsession "EFR" for the first half-half of the season was a very pedestrian (by NBA standards) .400.

The Suns also fall into the category of a team with a point guard that is more of natural two-guard. This is duplicated with Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight. Bledsoe has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.91-to-1 which is good for a two guard but not for an NBA starting point guard. Bledsoe's career assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.69-to-1. Now in his seventh season, we say, Bledsoe is what he is; a shooting guard.

Brandon Knight also leans more toward being a two-guard. Knight has a 1.42-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. His career number is 1.59-to-1. Now in his sixth season, Knight also is what he is; a shooting guard.

T.J. Warren missed 13 games in the first half of the Suns season. His deep shooting percentages have slipped dramatically. He was at 40% 3-pt. fg. last season but so far in 2016-17, Warren is hitting just 29% of three point attempts.

Are the Suns in touch with their reality?

Yes. The Suns are clearly aware of what they are doing by starting Marquese Chriss, and playing Dragan Bender in the rotation. The two 19 year-olds are just part of the bright future for the Suns. Most experts agree that Devin Booker is a future star in the NBA. Can Phoenix find a true point guard to mesh with the Suns young core of Booker, Chriss, Bender, and Alex Len?

The Suns have their own first and second round picks in the 2017 NBA Draft. The first round pick seems likely to be in the range of the third pick through the sixth pick.

Five most efficient by position

*PG - Eric Bledsoe .629, SG - Devin Booker .400, SF - Jared Dudley .416, PF - Marquese Chriss .378, C Tyson Chandler .632

* Bledsoe's assist-to-turnover ratio suggests he is really a shooting guard.

Which players have defensive ratings better than the team defrtg? (players w/ 300 minutes played minimum)

The Suns TEAM defensive rating is 110.9 (26th of 30). The players with defensive ratings better than the team average: Alex Len 107, and Tyson Chandler 108.

Conclusions

NBA related. Trade targets.

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