National Basketball Association

5 Reasons Marquese Chriss Should Start

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Phoenix Suns have two rookie stretch-fours at power forward, Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender. But who should start?

For the first time since Amare Stoudemire was in Phoenix, the Suns have options in their front court, especially at the power forward position. With two rookie power forwards, two talented centers and some other veteran forwards, who should begin the season in the starting lineup at power forward?

Marquese Chriss needs to, and here is why.

1.) Dragan Bender is not ready

Questions often surround European players when they come across the pond and into the NBA because it is tough to predict how they will fit into the more challenging NBA.

Manu Ginobili averaged 17.0 PPG playing in the Euroleague in 1999, yet was still the 57th overall pick by the San Antonio Spurs. Jan Vesely was the 11th overall pick in 2011 after averaging 10.1 PPG and 3.6 RPG his final year in Europe.

It is easier to asses talent in the U.S. because of location and a similar style of play to the NBA, while players drafted from overseas are taken mainly because of their physical potential. Bender has plenty of that, at 7 foot 1 inch tall, with a handle comparable to a point guard, but needs to be eased into the NBA.

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2.) The other forwards are not true power forwards

Jared Dudley and P.J. Tucker have experience playing the position, but Dudley is more of a spot-up three-point shooter than anything, and Tucker, at 6 foot 6 inches, does not have the size to cover power forwards like Zach Randolph, Blake Griffin or LaMarcus Aldridge.

While small, fast lineups are becoming more common in today’s NBA, Chriss would fit better in a lineup that wants to run up and down the floor because of his seven-foot wingspan and athleticism.

3.) He is freakishly athletic

Nobody comes into the NBA completely built up and in prime shape, especially now that the draft is all 18 and 19-year-old players (mostly). Athletic ability will always translate into other parts of a player’s game, and while Chriss is not known for one specific thing (decent scorer, average defender, perhaps a below average rebounder), he will very likely turn into a stat sheet stuffer.

After an injury derailed his football career, Chriss began playing basketball at age 14. five years later he is in a position to start for an NBA team. As if that athletic turnaround is not impressive enough, Chriss boasts a 38.5 inch max vertical at 6 foot 10 inches and can get to the rim like a guard.

4.) Suns need all the defense they can get

While Chriss is certainly has some flaws in his defensive game, most of them (lack of defensive rebounding instincts, falls for many pump fakes) look like they are from a lack of experience. It is clear Chriss did not grow up playing the game as much as others that came out of this summer’s draft, but all of that can be fixed with time, experience on the floor, and coaches putting him in the right position to succeed.

Chriss will play more basketball games in the next 12 months than perhaps the last few years of his basketball career, and we may see a rough rookie year, but his development from rookie to sophomore could be an explosion nobody sees coming.

The 19-year-old averaged 1.6 BPG last season at the University of Washington. The ceiling is very high.

5.) His skill set meshes well with the team

Eric Bledsoe, Leandro Barbosa, Devin Booker, Jared Dudley, Brandon Knight, Dragan Bender and Chriss are all three-point threats, and are all part of the reason why I feel the Suns will be a top 10 three-point shooting team in the NBA this year (in terms of percentage). Ever since Dirk Nowitzki broke onto the NBA scene in 1998, stretch-fours have become increasingly popular offensive weapons that many teams long for.

In fact, with so many teams trying to play the Golden State Warriors version of small-ball, it’s almost necessary to have a power forward that can stretch the floor and create space for others. Chriss, who shot 35.0 percent from distance in college, will create space for playmakers and facilitators Bledsoe, Knight and Booker.

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