Why Isaiah Thomas Is The Suns Savior
The Phoenix Suns are an abysmal franchise right now in our association, no doubts in my brain. From having a promising season with the “Big 3” to finding out this organization is consistently inconsistent, injuries aren’t the real issue behind their struggles, there is no real urgency to compete, fourth-quarter collapses are real, and a glaring point guard issue.
With all that being said, James Jones and Mat Ishbia have tackled the point guard issue. While Point Book and others haven’t been as effective, Phoenix has recognized and solved their issues. How did they solve them? Isaiah Thomas was signed to a 10-day contract.
Some of you are excited, some are puzzled, some are angry, etc. The different emotions are running high, balancing excitement and skepticism, but in this article, I will explain why he is the Phoneix Sun’s savior.
Understanding the Suns
Phoenix hasn’t had a true point guard since Chris Paul and Cameron Payne. There is a reason why the Suns rank 24th in the league in turnovers per game. They average 14.8 turnovers per game, sometimes 20-22.
While Devin Booker is a great guard, he isn’t made to be an every-game point guard. In fact, statistically speaking, it is very alarming. His assist-to-turnover ratio is 2.8. He still averages 6.8 assists per game, but the turnovers aren’t good.
Not even isolating it to one player, the whole team bites when passing the ball. This isn’t an emotional knock against my Phoenix Suns, not in the slightest. This organization lost too many basketball games when turnovers were at an obnoxious high.
It generated unwarranted runs, too many turnover points, fastbreak opportunities, or began to accelerate a team’s momentum to make a great comeback or to put an exclamation mark on whatever game it was.
This isn’t one man’s opinion; nationally speaking, many people are talking about this. Even locally speaking, many are voicing their concerns about this issue. Fans, journalists, analysts, and anybody under the sun are trying to figure out these issues and voice their concerns.
Good news for everybody, including myself, it appears a solution has been dug up.
Isaiah Thomas is a true point guard
Do you remember his days as a guard for the Boston Celtics? If you were a fan of his and/or Thomas, that was a special time in your life. The Celtics were rocking and rolling, and in particular, the 2016-17 season was so much fun for them.
I’m trying to drive at the fact that Thomas, in his career with Boston, averaged 6.0 assists. Teams crave a true point guard, especially at this point in time. This is to be considered rare, and what Thomas was doing was an exceptionally great skill.
Did he commit two turnovers a game, on average? Yes, but if we are looking at turnovers per game, why aren’t we calling out Luka Doncic? No shade is being thrown at a great basketball player, but we can’t fully focus on statistics to know who the player is.
Thomas is a better point guard than anyone on the Suns, true to the position. His passes are fundamental; coaches love them, but they can sometimes be flashy. If you watched his game in his “prime,” you will find out he was a combo threat: passing and scoring.
However, focusing on the passing aspect, he checks the majority, if not all, of the boxes the Suns require in a point guard. If it wasn’t for his height, he would still be dominant at a high level as a combo guard in this league.
What do the Suns have to lose by signing him?
Absolutely nothing. Let’s not pretend by bringing him in late into the season this is somehow going to disrupt the amazing momentum they have; hate to break it to everyone, but the Suns don’t have positive momentum.
This team is dysfunctional against .500 or better teams. They are only dominant against bad teams like the Charlotte Hornets. With all that being said, if there is a fix that can happen to their problems, then do it. In fact, majority of the community advises it.
It is a 10-day contract, this costs nothing. If you like what you see, then you can give him one more 10-day. If you really like you what you see, then you can sign him for the remainder of the season for the postseason/Play-In.
When dealing in the millions, a couple hundred thousand isn’t much – especially to a billionaire owner, who has pledged to give the very best to his organization’s fanbase. In fact, this can only be positive due to Thomas’s style of play and what the Suns desperately needs.
Ultimately, this is a no risk situation. The Isaiah Thomas signing only has upside, truthfully.
How can he help the Suns?
At this point in his career, Thomas wants to prove to the league he can still benefit a team at a high level. He isn’t going to be a ball-hog or someone who needs a lot of shots, which, for the Suns, is a good thing.
How can the Suns be benefited positively? Assist the ball to almost perfection, assume the traditional role of a point guard, and take the load off of Devin Booker and others who recently held the keys to that mantle.
Phoenix has a lot of shot takers, but not many shot creators – mainly for other players. They need a floor general, a facilitator, somebody who can get everyone involved. That somebody is Isaiah Thomas.
He’s not looking to average 24/6 like his days back in Boston, Thomas is looking to contribute in the passing department. If he gets a couple of shot attempts, great, but he isn’t looking for that.
Fans wanted Tyus Jones, I did as well, but here is the cheaper version of Jones that has a little more upside. Maybe not in his first game, but fans are going to see the Suns begin to change offensively and have a different pace with a veteran touch commanding the rock.
Conclusion:
He makes his debut Wednesday night against the Philadelphia 76ers; a lot of Suns fans, like myself, are going to be tuning in and glued to our screens. While these problems should have been solved by the break or sooner, this team does have a solution now.
I’m excited to see the return of Isaiah Thomas, it has been a long time coming and I know both sides are excited for him to get another shot.
During his 10-day contract, about five game appearances, we will see a true point guard. Again, this only works if he gets real minutes. I’m very confident Frank Vogel will give him the opportunity, as he has done with others, and I believe it will work out.
Tonight’s game is on NBA League Pass, however, tomorrow’s game against the Atlanta Hawks will be on NBA TV.
