Most Improved Phoenix Suns Players

[jonathanlambert33]

Although Goran Dragic was the winner of the 2013-14 Most Improved Player award, several of his teammates on the Phoenix Suns were also legitimate candidates.

The only way the Suns were capable of winning 30 more games than expected was by developing the entire roster, both offensively and defensively.

And for the most part, it worked. Benchwarmers last season suddenly became vital role players this year, while decent starters transformed into stars.

Here are the players who made the most progress this season.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2047529-most-improved-phoenix-suns-players-this-season

 

[Giantmetfan07]

Wow, Marcus Morris' #'s from 16-3pt took a huge turn. 
 
I'd still say the nod goes to Dragic, obviously but Marcus was probably 2nd on the team in improvement. Although Green makes a good case as well. Actually all of those guys had great improvement. 

 

[Teagz]

Gotta be Dragic. He turned into one of the best point guards in the league.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

I think it should be 2nd most improved Phoenix Suns player, because there's really no way to go against Dragic here. 

 

[jonathanlambert33]

I left off a s. Should have been players and not player. Fixed.

 

[BwareDWare94]

I don't think Dragic improved. I think people just noticed because the Suns were winning.
 
But yes, Marcus Morris is better than his brother at everything but PPG, imo. I'd take Marcus back in Houston, in a heartbeat. 

 

[CameronCrazy06]

Agree with BWare (Surprisingly). I wouldn't say he didn't improve but it was more that people finally started to notice.

 

[elcheato]

Dragic definitely did improve big time. He played basically the same minutes per game last year, and this year averaged nearly 6 more ppg, shot 8% better from three, 6% better from the field.
 
He went from a good player to a great player.
 
But, I'd go Morris. Huge impact this year

 

[jonathanlambert33]

I don't think Dragic improved. I think people just noticed because the Suns were winning.
 
But yes, Marcus Morris is better than his brother at everything but PPG, imo. I'd take Marcus back in Houston, in a heartbeat.

Dragic definitely improved. How much is really the answer. I see people say how his turnovers decreased, well that is kind of expected when you see such a huge change/increase of playing position (seriously, the guy saw something like a 1500% increase in his playing time at off guard), along with the decrease in assists. The big change was the fact that he went from a average guard in efficiency to an elite efficiency guard.

I think it's more interesting to look at why he made those improvements though. I see a couple things. He cut down on the mid-range shots this season, and got into the lane more. He also cut down on taking threes off ball screens a ton. During the 2012 season the three point shot made up 23% of his shots off of ball screens. This past season that dropped all the way to 13%, a 44% decrease. That in my opinion played a part in the improved 3pt shooting he displayed. You also saw a 5% increase in the amount of spot up threes he took last season, which is his most efficient three point shot. Couple reasons for the spot up increase that I saw in the little bit of film that I watched.

1) Better off ball movement: Under Alvin Gentry Dragic would initiate the offense then just go stand on the wing or in the corner and wait for a chance to shoot. With Jeff Hornacek you saw not only more off ball movement, but you also saw a better understanding of spacing and ball angles to make for easier passes.

2) Dribble penetration: Last season he played with the likes of Michael Beasley, Shannon Brown, Jared Dudley, Kendall Marshall, and Wesley Johnson. Teams did not respect those guys and as a result he was getting open spot ups. Fast forward to this year and you have Gerald Green, PJ Tucker, some stretch bigs like Channing Frye, Marcus Morris, and most importantly Eric Bledsoe. Guys that defenses were forced to respect, and it wasn't only drive and kicks to Dragic. I saw a lot of drives, kicks, ball reversals as well. Something the Suns did not do last season.

 

[BwareDWare94]

Let me rephrase, because he definitely made improvements, but I think Dragic has been exceptionally good for a long time but nobody but us more studied fans knew about it.