Eric Bledsoe: Suns Guards “Weren’t Competing, Including Myself”
The Phoenix Suns were one of the considered winners this offseason. Signing Isaiah Thomas in free agency after the showing he had with the Sacramento Kings last season made the Suns a hot commodity, if not even more of a dark horse in the Western Conference. The potentiality of the guard core of Thomas along with Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe was scary in a good way for head coach Jeff Hornacek.
Phoenix started out the season just 12-14, struggling to mesh and still syncing with their new line ups. They’ve now won eight of their last ten games.
The early struggles for the Suns, according to Eric Bledsoe, was a lack of competitiveness.
From Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic:
“When we added Isaiah into the mix to Gerald (Green), guys were thinking about how they were going to score,” Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. “Now, they’re just playing. They’re playing and sharing the ball. When Eric and Goran are out there, that’s two huge weapons that teams have to deal with and they’re both playing great.” …
Bledsoe said they took “a look in the mirror” about how they played last season. They seem to be recapturing that, showing chemistry instincts that come with familiarity.
“When we (were) losing, I think our guards, me in particular, weren’t competing,” Bledsoe said. “I thought every time somebody came in, we pretty much went out there with a nonchalant attitude. (In Sunday’s win against Toronto), we just were playing and competing every minute, all 48 minutes.”
This Phoenix team possesses weapons, and these comments from Bledsoe suggests they’ve just been trying to learn how to use them. Goran Dragic, who is also a free agent come this summer, and Eric Bledsoe are considered one of the most dynamic back courts in the league. Isaiah Thomas and Gerald Green are easily the most dynamic scoring duo on any bench in the league.
With such a guard-heavy system and personnel, this has to be an energetic brand of basketball. If Bledsoe, Dragic, Thomas, and Green have indeed found their competitive niche, they’ll look more like that dark horse we expected to see.
