HOOPSAHOLIC

The Phoenix Suns will be a squad to look out for in 2014 after surprising everyone last year by almost making the playoffs in the stacked Western Conference. No one really gave the Suns a chance this time last year, so it’ll be interesting to see how they perform now that people are expecting them to be good. 

Their point guard Goran Dragic who averaged 20 points and six assists last year will lead them going into this season. Dragic made play after play last year for the Suns despite being without his wing man Eric Bledsoe for some of the season due to injury. Dragic reminds people of Steve Nash with his playmaking ability and his craftiness when it comes to scoring. He can shoot, pass and dribble with his only weakness coming on the defensive end of the floor. The Suns run the two point guard offense to perfection with Dragic and Bledsoe both excelling. Last year Bledsoe averaged 18 points, five rebounds and five assists, and was signed to a max contract extension in the summer. He now will have extra confidence and that swagger should translate to the court. The success of the Suns will solely depend on the play of their two point guards.

Not only do the Suns have two good point guards, they technically have three. They signed Isaiah Thomas in the offseason to be the team’s sixth man after averaging 20 points last year with the Kings. He’s a pure scorer who knows how to get the ball in the basket. He will be a nice addition to this improving Suns team and it’ll be interesting to see if we will ever see Dragic, Bledsoe and Thomas all on the floor at the same time. 

Two surprises from last season were the play of both Gerald Green and PJ Tucker. Green averaged 16 points per game and he showed off his extreme athleticism on a nightly basis. The former dunk champion has finally found a home in Phoenix after bouncing around from team to team once he got into the NBA straight out of high school. Tucker started most games for the Suns at the small forward position and averaged 9.4 points to go along with seven rebounds per game. He also held the responsibility of guarding the other teams best wing player on a nightly basis, which was something he did well. He’s one of those players that fits well in they system he’s in and Phoenix seems happy to have him. 

The Morris brothers both had solid seasons last year now that they're able to pair up together on the same team. They obviously have great chemistry because they’re twins.. duh. Markieff really had a great year last season averaging 14 points and six rebounds. Marcus played well too averaging ten points and four rebounds. They both will be big contributors to the Suns’ rotation and I expect them to continue to live up to the hype they had surrounding them coming out of Kansas. 

The Suns have a lot of talent but don’t really have that superstar player. Everyone will need to contribute and play their role in order for them to make playoff push. I really like how this team is constructed from the ground up and I can’t wait to watch them play.