FanPost

Memo to the Channing Frye Hater Brigade

#letfryefly - Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Phoenix Suns...

…must START and FINISH with THE FRYE GUY!!!!!!!

And that's all I have to say about that.

-Me, like 3 hours ago

Actually, that's not all I have to say about that. I wish it was. This argument is insane. There is not a single person arguing that Channing Frye is playing his best or shooting his best right now. None at all.

But, from the 2009-2010 season to the 2011-2012 season, 119 players have averaged 3 or more 3PT FGA per game. Channing Frye is #17 in 3PT FG% on that list. If you bump that up to 4 3PT FGA per game, you get 44 players and Channing Frye is #5 on that list in 3PT FG%. That is 3 seasons of unquestionable excellence at 3 point shooting. When you are in the top 15% of anything in the NBA for 3 seasons, you are doing it right.

The reason Jeff Hornacek is making the unfathomable decision to continue letting Channing Frye shoot the 3-ball whether the game is on the line or not is because he has beyond a shadow of a doubt demonstrated that he is good at it.

Better than Ryan Anderson.

Better than Manu Ginobili.

Better than Jason Richardson.

Better than Kevin Durant.

Better than Eric Gordon.

Better than Joe Johnson.

Better than Kobe Bryant.

If he can out-chuck those chuckers, then guess what? He's a pretty damn good chucker. And just like h8rs gotta h8, chuckers gotta chuck.

So please, Frye haters, keep belaboring the point that Channing Frye is not playing well right now. Keep typing "power" in all caps as if Charles Barkley is walking through that door. Keep calling us Fryemosexuals or saying that we are blind or sentimental or illogical for supporting Coach's choice to #letfryefly. It's cool. I truly believe that in the completely pointless exercise of fandom, we all have the right to blindly love or hate whatever player we want for whatever reason we want. But at some point you have to be honest and acknowledge that that love or hate is in fact blind. Because every time someone demonstrates that Channing Frye, in defiance of all that you find holy, does not suck via some objective criteria, you simply ignore it or shift the argument to some other perceived foible in his game.

What you have to do if you want to be taken seriously is stop pretending like it is some great mystery why he is being asked to continue shooting. It's because he is fucking good at it. And if any of the dudes on the list above got off to a rough start, that's what we'd be calling it: a rough start. Nothing more and nothing less. No calls to bench or trade them. No vitriol or baseless impugning of their overall game. Just a call for patience and the very reasonable hope that things will get better. And that's what the rational among us are doing.

So, I ask two things, dear Bright Siders. If you love Channing Frye (like I know you do), please stop "defending" him. This is not a debate with 2 sides. It's a crusade with one. And the more we react to it the more it gets validated. And Frye haters, I simply ask that the next time you feel the urge to point out how bad Channing Frye is playing that you simply pause before typing. Please. Pause and consider whether or not you are bringing something new and relevant to the conversation. Is your latest iteration of "Channing Frye needs to be on the bench" really that much better than the one you posted in the last thread?

We are all Suns fans here. We can all take pleasure in the fact that on that list above, Kobe Bryant ranks 100th of 119 players attempting 3 or more 3 pointers per game in 3PT FG% from 2009-2012. Incessantly nitpicking or gladhandling one player is small potatoes in this glorious Year One of the Rebuild. Can't we all agree there are bigger fish to -- ahem -- filet right now?

And that is all I have to say about that.