FanPost

It can be tough to see the forest with all these %&@*?! trees around


Often it can be difficult in an 82-game season to see the forest for the trees. Everyone does it, overemphasizing 2- or 3-game trends at a time and getting worked into a lather because of it. And rarely does it happen more often than when speaking of player progression.

Because of this, sometimes it helps to step back and look at the fuller picture.

Let’s take Eric Bledsoe. So far this season, he is averaging career highs in assists (6.0), rebounds (5.5), steals (1.7), free throw percentage (80.4), and minutes played (34.5). All that while averaging 17.3 points, which is just 4 tenths off his career high from last season.

Or how about the twins. Markieff Morris is averaging career highs in points (15.4), assists (2.2), steals (1.3), and minutes played (31.2). Marcus, meanwhile, has career highs in points (10.3), rebounds (4.5), assists (1.6), and minutes (24.5).

Then there are the young guys. We’ve all seen Alex Len’s progression from last season to today, and the numbers bear it out. He has averages of 6.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 0.5 steals, 0.4 assists, 51.5-percent field goal shooting, and 69.6-percent free throw shooting in 21.7 minutes — all career highs.

And despite Archie Goodwin’s limited number of games, he’s still averaged career highs in points (5.0), assists (1.1), 3-point shooting (37.0), free throw shooting (70.9), and minutes (10.5).

Even mid-season acquisition Brandan Wright is averaging career highs with the Suns in rebounding (4.6), steals (0.7), free throw percentage (75.7), and minutes (20.1).

If that wasn’t enough, here are all the career highs set by Suns’ players this season.
*Only players currently on the roster are included.
**Yes, I included turnovers because apparently I have a cruel streak.
***I included T.J. Warren, a rookie, in the lists because I could.

Points
Markieff Morris: 35
Eric Bledsoe: 34
Marcus Morris: 34
Alex Len: 19
T.J. Warren: 17

Rebounds
Eric Bledsoe: 13
Marcus Morris: 13
Alex Len: 13
T.J. Warren: 7

Assists
Eric Bledsoe: 16
Markieff Morris: 7 (twice)
Marcus Morris: 7 (twice)
Gerald Green: tied-6
Archie Goodwin: 5
Alex Len: 3
T.J. Warren: 3

Steals
P.J. Tucker: tied-5 (3 times)
Markieff Morris: tied-5
Gerald Green: tied-5
Marcus Morris: tied-4
Alex Len: 4
Archie Goodwin: 3
T.J. Warren: 1 (8 times)

Blocks
Brandan Wright: tied-7
Alex Len: 6 (3 times)
Eric Bledsoe: 4
P.J. Tucker: 4
T.J. Warren: 1 (3 times)
Reggie Bullock: tied-1 (twice)

FGM
Markieff Morris: 15
Eric Bledsoe: tied-11 (4 times)
Marcus Morris: 11
Alex Len: 8
P.J. Tucker: 8 (4 times)
T.J. Warren: 8

3FGM
Marcus Morris: 6
P.J. Tucker: tied-4
Eric Bledsoe: tied-3 (7 times)
Markieff Morris: tied-3 (3 times)
Archie Goodwin: 2
Alex Len: 1
T.J. Warren: 1 (4 times)

FTM
Eric Bledsoe: 12
Gerald Green: 11
Marcus Morris: 7
Archie Goodwin: 6
Alex Len: 5
T.J. Warren: 2 (3 times)

Minutes
Markieff Morris: 44
Marcus Morris: 41
Brandan Wright: 38
Alex Len: 38
T.J. Warren: 24 (twice)

Turnovers
Eric Bledsoe: 9
Markieff Morris: 6 (twice)
Gerald Green: tied-6
Archie Goodwin: 5
Alex Len: 4 (twice)
T.J. Warren: 2 (4 times)
Reggie Bullock: tied-1

You see? Despite the ugliness that tends to stick out like a sore thumb around these parts, there has been plenty of progress amongst the players in Phoenix. And this doesn’t even include Brandon Knight, whose injury has limited him to only a handful of games and, therefore, stunted our perception of him.

Now, I am not saying everything this season has been a bed of roses. For instance, Marcus Morris is shooting 60.6 percent from the charity stripe this season while Bledsoe has committed a career-high 3.5 turnovers a game (and recently became the franchise’s leader in 7+ turnover games in a single season with 8). But there has been progress. It doesn’t always come in the form of a tidal wave of talent, either. More often than not, progress manifests as a slow drip that goes unnoticed until, one day, you realize that no matter what you do, the faucet won’t turn off.

That slow drip has been the Suns. We’re usually just too close to see it for ourselves.