NBA opener a good gauge for the Suns
If you want to have some fun with it, this is the most important season opener for the Phoenix Suns in almost a decade.
The franchise — for the first time in a long time — finally has an experienced coach (Monty Williams), experienced role players (Dario Saric and Aron Baynes), budding young stars (Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton) and an honest-to-goodness point guard (Ricky Rubio)!
But if you want to take it more seriously, this game against the Sacramento Kings at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Wednesday is just 1 of 82 — except it’s a lot
bigger than just 1 of 82.
This is a chance for the team assembled by General Manager James Jones to show and prove their boss knows what he’s doing. There’s no better measuring stick for the Sun’s growth — or lack thereof — than the Kings.
Just look at how many guys are wearing purple over there when they could be wearing purple over here.
And the year before that (2016), the Suns took Dragan Bender over Buddy Hield.
Hield averaged 20.7 points per game last season.
Bender had more than 20 DNPs (the dreaded “Did Not Play-Coach’s Decision) by Christmas.
The year before that (2016), the Suns traded Bogdan Bogdanovic for Marquese Chriss.
Bogdanovic averaged 14 points per game off the bench last season.
Chriss did next to nothing in Houston and Cleveland last year. (As with Jackson, the Suns were a wreck when Chriss was here. He remains as physically gifted as anyone in the league. Here’s hoping he revives his career with the Warriors.)
And lest you think all of the KingsSuns “woulda, coulda, shouldas” came under the watch of former general manager Ryan McDonough, there are two guys on Sacramento’s roster who had lockers in Talking Stick Resort Arena last year.
Trevor Ariza and Richaun Holmes, who are both expected to contribute for the Kings.
Ariza was a malcontent in Phoenix. He pouted in front of reporters and made it clear he wanted out.
Jones shipped him to Washington for Kelly Oubre Jr., who has become a team leader and everything the organization had hoped for in Jackson.
He’s energetic. He’s a willing defender. And he’s consistent.
Holmes, however, was the Suns best spark off the bench last season. He grabbed rebounds and dived after loose balls and tried to dunk seemingly every time he touched the ball.
He left for Sacramento as a free agent, picking up a roughly $3 million annual raise along the way.
It’s easy to imagine guys like Fox and Hield and Bogdanovic and even Holmes on the Suns’ roster.
It’s also easy to imagine they would have struggled as mightily as everyone else did under Earl Watson, Jay Triano and Igor Kokoskov.
Bottom line, this opener will feature evenly matched teams and plenty of opportunities to gauge which program is closer to returning to the playoffs. (The Suns haven’t been since 2010. The Kings drought goes back to 2006!)
Phoenix can gain a lot of equity with its beleaguered fan base with a win. Yes, it’s just 1 of 82.
But it’s a lot bigger than 1 of 82.