AZCENTRAL SPORTS
Without Booker and Warren, young Suns struggle to find the net in their penultimate preseason game
Josh Jackson says his focus is on maintaining his aggressiveness while limiting turnovers. “It just takes time and maturity,” the Suns’ rookie forward says.
The Suns dropped to 1-3 in the preseason with a 113-104 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday at Talking Stick Resort Arena.
Phoenix played without starters Devin Booker (knee) and forward T.J. Warren (back). Both are expected to return for Friday’s preseason finale against the Brisbane Bullets, an Australian professional team.
The Suns took better care of the ball than they did Monday, when they committed 31 turnovers against Utah. Phoenix had 13 turnovers but shot just 37.8 percent from the field. Point guard Eric Bledsoe had a particularly rough night, going 0 for 8.
Rookie Josh Jackson continued his strong preseason with a team-high 22 points on 9 of 19 shooting with seven rebounds and two assists. Marquese Chriss had 13 points and 12 rebounds and Mike James, starting in place of the injured Booker, scored 19.
Phoenix center Alex Len and Portland center Caleb Swanigan received double technical fouls and were ejected early in the fourth quarter. The two got tangled up as they fought for a rebound, Len shoved Swanigan in the back and the two started pushing and shoving before being separated by teammates.
Westbrook comparison
When Suns coach Earl Watson compared Jackson to Russell Westbrook, when Westbrook was a rookie in Oklahoma City, he meant it as a compliment.
Like Westbrook, Jackson is an elite athlete who plays with great energy and can fill up a box score. Through three preseason games Jackson is averaging 13 points and five rebounds per game and, encouragingly, is shooting 60 percent from 3-point range.
But Jackson also is averaging 5.7 turnovers per contest, a result of, like Westbrook, sometimes playing too fast for his own good.
“It’s different from college because it’s more of a thinking game,” Jackson said. “A lot of things out there I see happening on the court it’s just read and react. As an offensive player you have to be able to know what you have to do off what they give you.”
Jackson’s turnover rate is not atypical. As he said: “It’s part of the process. It just takes time and maturity.”
Watson said Monday that he’d like to see Jackson “slow down and make good decisions.” But it’s a fine line. Phoenix doesn’t want Jackson playing cautiously. If he’s going to make a mistake, make it playing hard and then learn from it.
“A lot of my turnovers have come from not being able to read what the defense is doing and trying to force a play when it wasn’t there,” Jackson said. “You can still play fast while doing all those things at the same time.”
Outsiders’ view
TNT held a conference call with NBA analysts Reggie Miller and Chris Webber on Wednesday to preview the season. Here’s what they had to say about the Suns:
Miller: “You build around Devin Booker. To me he is probably a top-five shooting guard at such a young age. You go out and draft a defensive specialist and all-around great player at Kansas in Josh Jackson. What are my expectations for the Phoenix Suns in the loaded Western Conference? They’re looking at a lottery pick again.”
Webber: “Now is the time for Phoenix fans to earn their stripes so when success comes five, six, seven years down the road they can say don’t jump on the bandwagon." I think they’re building the right way. We’ve seen teams make a gamble after older players and maybe they handicap their franchise for the next two, three or four seasons. I think patience is something that can be appreciated. They’re going to need a lot of patience this year because it’s going to be trying times for a young team.”
Bennett, Jok waived
The Suns waived former No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett and shooting guard Peter Jok Wednesday. Neither had played in the preseason and both are expected to join the NAZ Suns of the GLeague. Phoenix has 18 players on its roster.