The Phoenix Suns have gotten off to great starts before but what sets this team apart from so many in the past is the play of the bench. Who’s your favorite, Jared Dudley or Lou Amondson? Leandro Barbosa or Jarron Collins? These players are smart, they hustle, and provide a spark/energy to the game that keeps leads and even extends them. The best thing, is you can throw any of these players in with the other starters and it doesn’t disrupt the chemistry. From brightsideofthesun.com;
“This new philosophy has given the Suns a reliable bench that can spell the starters and often outplay the opponent’s bench players with energy and hustle. Players like Jared Dudley and Lou Amundson have become fan favorites and their solid performance has translated to the win column. Overall, we can say that the Suns bench is in the top 5 for blocks, a remarkable feat considering the team’s lack of size, and top 10 for steals and rebounds. Even when we account for the modest assists and points rankings, the Suns reserves are, on average, still top 10 in the league. It’s been a while since we could boast a top 10 bench. Probably we should all thank Alvin Gentry for believing in some unproven youngsters like Dragic and Dudley or almost unknown NBA-vagabonds like Lou Amundson.” I think one of my favorite players this year is Jared Dudley. He is throwing himself all over the floor, shooting the ball extremely well and is a great asset to the team. From fanster.com; ”This season, Dudley has a per game +/- of 6.0, and is averaging higher Player Efficiency Rating (PER), 17.2, than Battier has in his entire career. Along with PER, Dudley has a better True Shooting Percentage, Effeiciency Field Goal percentage and True Rebounding Percentage than Battier ever has for a season. Granted, these numbers are skewed due to the fact that Dudley has only played 12 games out of an 82 game season. When you combine those stats with his defensive abilities and energy, it goes to show just how big of an impact the Suns’ backup small forward has had on the Suns’ fast start.” This bench could be the deciding factor in getting us back in the playoffs.
