CP3: Staying Healthy.
Chris Paul is 37 and will turn 38 during the season. At his age and with his already advanced knowledge of the game, it’s hard to envision CP3 making drastic improvements at this point of his career. He’s not going to blow by people and dunk on them like Ja Morant, but that’s okay. Paul is still an elite game manager, can hit big shots, and knows what it takes to win.
But if there’s anything Chris Paul can still improve, it’s learning how to stay healthy. He needs to keep his body out of danger, even if that means going a little easier on the court. For an intense competitor like Paul, this might be the hardest thing you could ever ask him to do.
But there are early signs that he is willing to do so. Through five games, he has taken only 45 shots (9 FGAs/game). That would be a new career low for Paul. While his shooting hasn’t come around yet, he’s still among the league leaders in assists (10.0) and steals (2.0) per game.
In any case, the Suns need to wrap him in bubble wrap, or at least hire some kind of voodoo priest to break the Annual Chris Paul Playoff Injury Curse™.
Booker: Drawing More FTs.
As evidenced by the table below, drawing more free throws could be an improvement I could have written for every player on the Suns roster. But as the star player and one of the best FT shooters on the team, this responsibility has to go to Booker.
The past few seasons Booker hasn’t attacked the rim as much as he used to, as he has built a reputation as one of the game’s best mid-range shooters. By taking more mid-range jumpers, it allows him to conserve his energy and helps him stay fresh late in games.
At the same time, the Suns are one of the worst in the league at drawing fouls. In fact, the Suns were TWENTY SEVENTH in free throws per game last season. Ideally Book needs to up his FTAs to at least seven to eight a game. To do this, he has to drive to the rim a lot more than he has in the past few seasons.
Through five games this season, Booker is showing an emphasis on being aggressive to the hoop and putting more pressure on the rim. He’s averaging 7.6 FTAs per game. So far, so good. Let’s hope it continues throughout the season. The Suns desperately need to generate more free throws from somewhere.
Someone needs to lock him in a room with DA and have them watch flopping compilations of Doncic, Giannis, and Harden on YouTube.
Mikal: ISO scoring.
I love Mikal. Always gives his all, plays smart defense, and has become a fan favorite for good reason. He’s one of the best cutters and finishers in transition (89th percentile last season) in the NBA.
But sometimes Mikal gets overly unselfish for his own good, and isn’t great at creating his own shot yet. Albeit on VERY limited attempts, Mikal was in the 9.2% percentile (uh-oh) in terms of ISO scoring last season. But just the fact that he only had six shots in ISO situations supports the notion that he needs to be more assertive in looking for his shot.
It would be ideal if he develops more of a face-up game and can be a more effective player off the dribble in ISO or PnR situations. Not only will that improve his own play, but also the Suns’ play as well.
An aggressive Mikal driving to the hoop would open up a lot of opportunities. Cam Johnson could float towards the corners more often, Book and CP3 would have more space to work with, and another body in the paint with Ayton would help with offensive rebounding.
With CP3 getting older and driving the ball less, the Suns need more pressure on the rim. If Mikal (or Cam Johnson) learns to slash to the rim more, the Suns will have a beautiful symphony of slashers, shooters, passers, cutters, etc. in their starting lineup. Yes, I said symphony.
Cam Johnson: Be more consistent and do the little stuff to win.
I was very tempted at giving Cam the “stay healthy” improvement here instead of Chris, but I’ll chalk his early injuries this season up to bad luck.
Cam Johnson is a very interesting player as a modern wing at 6’9” who can defend multiple positions, shoot threes, and even do some scoring off the dribble if needed. He was actually the top rated player in ISO scoring last season, albeit on only 5/9 FG.
I’d like to see Cam try to work on being more consistent and to do more of the little stuff to win. Crowder was a starter last season because he was good at contributing to winning basketball. Not only was Jae a solid wing defender, but he was also an underrated passer in Monty’s offense. Suns fans will always remember the Valley-Oop fondly.
Before Cam got injured in his breakout game vs the Knicks, he was turning into a rather consistent scorer off the bench. He averaged 17.2 ppg on 50% 3PT in the ten games leading up to his injury last year.
If Cam can get back to somewhere around those numbers while adding more of the little stuff like Crowder provided, he will be huge for the Suns this season.
At times last season it seemed like Ayton was trying to rebound the ball on his own, and as the starting 4 this season Cam will have to help him out. We’ve all seen Cam surprise people with his unexpected bounce (i.e. dunking on PJ Tucker last year). Last season he averaged 3.5 rebounds in 26.2 minutes per game.
Go after those boards, Cam.
(But stay healthy).
Ayton: Shoot the ball more.
Shoot. Shoot. Shoot.
(Pause)
SHOOOOOT.
Apart from maintaining his aggression on offense and rebounding, this is the main thing Ayton has to do. Last season he only took 12 shots per game. That’s less shots than Will Barton had for Denver last season. Ayton needs to look for his shot more and his teammates also have to feed him more this season.
In comparison to other elite bigs, Embiid took 19.6 shots per game last season, while Jokic took 17.7. If Ayton ever wants to reach that superstar tier, he should be taking 15 a game at the very least, especially with his elite efficiency and touch around the rim.
If he shoots over 15 times per game this season, there is a very good chance that he will become an All Star this season with some All Star caliber numbers. An aggressive and confident Deandre spells trouble for the rest of the league.
Like the wings tattooed across his chest, it’s time for DA to spread his wings.
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“Despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not.” -Gandalf
