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Phoenix Suns Player of the Week: Bledsoe, Dragic, or Tucker?

The Suns had a good week, going 2-1 overall which included beating the Houston Rockets on the road. So many different players had big contributions at various times...but who deserves to be named the "Suns Player of the Week"?

By Sean Sullivan
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Finalists

Eric Bledsoe aka "Crunch Time"

Weekly Stat Averages:

Points: 15.0 FG%: .525 Assists: 6.3 Rebounds: 3.0

After being out for six games from what I can only assume was the king of all shin bruises, Eric Bledsoe appears to be finally returning to form. Over his five games since returning to the Suns line-up, Bledsoe has had a few ups and downs, which is to be expected after missing so much time. However, he's starting to look more and more like himself...With his game against the Memphis Grizzlies being the only exception.

Still, Bledsoe gives the Suns an added element that they just can't get from anyone else. He has that kind of star quality that you see in marquee players, in which he seems to play his best in the biggest moments. Whether it's a buzzer beating three, or an acrobatic and-1 finish at the rim...Bledsoe has a knack for changing the momentum and finding a way to be the difference.


Goran Dragic aka "Scorin' Goran"

Weekly Stat Averages:

Points: 16.3 FG%: .489 Assists: 2.7 Steals: 2.0 Rebounds: 3.3

Dragic once again had the most consistent week of any Suns player...registering 16, 19, and 14 points, respectively, in the three games he played. Scorin' Goran continues to get it done with aggressive drives to the basket, and dare I say, Nash-like abilities to dribble circles around his man and pull big's out of the paint and score over the top of them.

The only thing missing from Dragic's game this week were the assists...something he excelled in during the time when Bledsoe was injured. This makes me wonder if he's struggling to run the offense the same way with Bledsoe sharing the duties, or if it's simply a matter of having the ball in his hands less and focusing more on scoring. However, Dragic continues to be the most consistent player on the team when it comes to his production overall, and he was once again the leading scorer for the team this week.


P.J. Tucker aka "Lock Down "

Weekly Stat Averages:

Points: 13.7 FG%: .427 3PT%: .500 Steals: 2.0 Rebounds: 7.0

P.J. Tucker may have had the best game of his career this week against the Houston Rockets...not just because of his 18 points on 8-13 shooting while going 2-2 from beyond the arc, nor his 6 rebounds (4 offensive), 4 assists, and 4 steals in his 40 minutes of play. Tucker's greatest achievement that night may have been the defensive vice-grip he squeezed James Harden into...all but taking him out of the game for most of the night, and limiting him to 3-17 shooting including 0-10 from three.

There's no doubt in my mind that Tucker was the best player on the court that night. His all-around game, and especially his defense were the reasons the Suns were able to marginalize the Rockets on the road, and beat them convincingly.



Honorable Mention:

Markieff Morris aka "The Philly Finisher"

Weekly Stat Averages:

Points: 14.3 FG%: .493 Rebounds: 7.7



The Player of the Week

P.J. Tucker

P.J. Tucker was the biggest difference for the Suns this week. How did he follow up his outstanding performance against the Houston Rockets? With another great performance against the Toronto Raptors in which he scored 18 points, and grabbed a team high 13 rebounds!

Tucker has been proving he is much more that just a defensive energy guy this season, with his current ranking as the 5th best three-point shooter in the entire league to prove it. However, it's his all-around game that I think impresses me the most about him. He's obviously worked very hard to become a threat from the corner three, and it's paying off for him big time...but he does a little bit of everything out there on the court, and has turned into one of the best overall players on the team because of it.

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