The Phoenix Suns' four-game stagger has accelerated local chatter regarding prospects for next summer's NBA draft.
A mock-list climber in recent days has been Baylor sophomore Perry Jones III. Jones, you may recall, stunned most draft observers by skipping last year's draft (during which his dreaded upside may have commanded an early lottery spot) and returning to school despite an NCAA sanction that removed him from the Bears' first five games this season.
The 6-foot-11 forward posted some eye-popping numbers in his first couple of appearances this season, inspiring status revivals by internet experts who -- on a couple of occasions -- have compared his skills to those of Tracy McGrady.
OK, Jones is quick, bouncy, agile and has more perimeter dexterity than perhaps all players his size. But comparing his ability to shake opponents with the pre-injury chutzpah of T-Mac is ridiculous. Does he have the tools to be an NBA star? Without a doubt. Unfortunately, there's more to dislike about Jones (how long before he's referred to as PJIII?) than a cockeyed comparison.
And here it is:
"He scares me."
That testimony was provided by an NBA talent-snooping executive who was referring to Jones' seeming habit of sometimes providing less-than-maximum effort.
"He's really talented," our NBA guy said, "and could really be a big-time pro if he figures it out."
I asked the talent sharpie to pause for a few moments, then dig up a few names of big-time NBA players with intensity or focus issues ... ever.
"Uh ... I can't think of any," he said.
Checking in on the flip side of this issue is Kentucky freshman small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
Kidd-Gilchrist, who was highly recommended in this space last week, put up 24 points and 19 rebounds in the Wildcats' triumph over Louisville. While not exactly the lead option on a loaded team, MKG has emerged as its leader by virtue of a non-stop motor and the willingness to fill the stat sheet with numbers in dirty-work categories.
As mentioned last week, his shaky shot mechanics have encouraged scouts to peg him as a standout role player. If that's his NBA future, it certainly would surpass what a lot of doomed lottery picks have provided.
But his shooting form, it should be noted, isn't that tricky to fix. MKG's biggest enemy is a lack of trajectory. Without going into explaining why, please understand that shooting a flat ball is not the way to go. The mechanical flaw is a shooting elbow Kidd-Gilchrist extends away from his body instead of an upward motion that allows him to keep the elbow under the ball and create the necessary arc.
"He makes things happen off the dribble better than most 3s," our scout said of MKG. "If he could hit shots consistently ... with all of the other things he does ... he'd be, well, pretty dangerous."
It should be noted that Kidd-Gilchrist does need to become more dribble-fluent with his left hand. The shooting, however, is easier to upgrade at this stage of development than other possible deficiencies.
An old flaw -- shooting across the body instead of keeping the elbow lined up -- has been improved.
Kidd-Gilchrist was 2 of 4 from 3-point range against Louisville but was only 8 of 13 at the foul line.
SUNNY D
The Suns' dedication to better defense has resulted in a jump to 15th in efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions) and 12th in field-goal percentage.
But before rejoicing, please consider how the Suns are encouraging us not to overreact to their poor start offensively. OK, we know they'll make shots.
We also should consider the horrendous shooting performance issued by the New Orleans Hornets in Friday's home loss to Phoenix. Working without opening-night hero Eric Gordon, the Hornets (who did have point guard Jarrett Jack in the lineup) made a tick under 30 percent of their shots against the Suns. That will skew the defensive stats -- based on a four-game sample size -- in the Suns' favor.
The Suns do deserve credit for challenging shots and causing this brick-a-thon. They also surrendered 24 offensive rebounds, which is easier to do when the opposition continues to miss.
Anyway, the reported simplification of defensive principles incorporated by first-year "defensive coordinator" Elston Turner had included a more aggressive "show" approach by the Phoenix defender guarding the screener in pick-and-roll schemes.
Well, they tried doing this at times last season. But this year, the training-camp preparation was obvious; weak-side defenders were rotating early, lurking in the lane to deal with the screener who -- by virtue of the hard show -- almost always slips to the basket. This defensive strategy puts the Suns in rotation, a necessary evil that works when everyone moves with anticipation, all-out effort and enough pressure on the ballhandler to prevent a scheme-wrecking pass when the defenders converge.
In their first two games (especially the loss to Philly), rotation off of the hard ball-screen show wasn't very good. And there was very little pressure on the ballhandler. So the Suns played a more containment-based style in the game at New Orleans. With the player guarding the screener hanging back, the player guarding the ballhandler went under the screen, basically daring the Hornets guard to shoot.
With Gordon out, the primary handler was Jack, who missed 14 of his 20 shots from the field.
The tactic would seem to be just the tonic to handle Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook, too. But in Saturday's loss at OKC, Westbrook made that pull-up jumper and pretty much did anything he wanted in any offensive situation.
The Thunder made 53 percent of their shots against the same strategy, although it was being deployed by a team in the second of a back-to-back situation.
OKC, of course, has a lot more shot-makers than a Gordon-less Hornets squad.
By the way, even without being aggressive in screen-roll and volunteering to get into rotation, the Suns have too many players who don't recover with a sense of urgency or focus after helping. That's why Phoenix is 21st in allowed points in the paint and has a per-game average (43.5) that's the same as last year's interior disaster.
POWER MOVES
Like last season, the Suns' power forward position is in a by-committee predicament.
When things are going well, starter Channing Frye provides Phoenix with a floor-spacing 3-point threat who's pretty mediocre on the post (even against a guard on a switch), inconsistent on the boards and not exactly stout on defense. He does have the length and enough bounce to block a few shots.
Backup Hakim Warrick -- who's built his career at sprinting to the hoop and dunking -- has been better from mid-range and even with his back to the defender. The relatively thin Warrick is not much of a rebounder and offers even less as a defender. Through three games (coach Alvin Gentry didn't play him in the opener), he leads the Suns in scoring, but the defensive issues are hard to ignore.
Rookie Markieff Morris has the potential to give the Suns interior defense, rebounding and enough offense to keep the other four men on the bench for longer stretches. But while he's making his NBA bones, Gentry -- who's still waiting for Frye to emerge from his perimeter-shooting funk -- juggles the minutes, hoping one of these players achieves some consistency.
Don't bet against Morris.
