Elie Okobo starts as Suns’ preseason point guard shuffle continues
Oct 5, 2018, 6:06 PM | Updated: 6:33 pm
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
PHOENIX — Phoenix Suns head coach Igor Kokoskov is clearly not favoring any of his four point guards when it comes to playing time in the preseason.
That should serve as an indicator of a wide-open race for who could start on Oct. 17 in the season opener.
Shaquille Harrison received the nod the first two games, but in Wednesday’s win against the Breakers, he had shorter shifts and finished with 23 minutes after playing 24 in Monday’s loss to the Kings.
It’s worth noting that came with Isaiah Canaan out due to a thumb injury, and Canaan is expected to make his preseason debut on Friday against the Portland Trail Blazers.
No. 31 overall pick Elie Okobo was announced as the starter, though, after playing 23 and 13 minutes in the first two games.
There’s also rookie De’Anthony Melton, a mid-second round pick acquired in the Brandon Knight deal from Houston, who didn’t play on Monday and played only 11 minutes on Wednesday.
Kokoskov said pregame Friday they will continue to rotate guys in and out for the preseason.
“We’re still gonna rotate in guys — that’s not our final decision,” he said.
“We’re gonna use tonight’s game and the following two games — preseason — to maybe start somebody else.”
At shootaround on Friday, Kokoskov stated he will stick with his “2.5 point guards” rotation during Friday’s game, noting that Harrison was the one who will play less on Friday despite leading in minutes for the first two games.
Harrison has had a mixed batch of performances. His best traits as a defender have popped, finishing with four blocks and two steals on Wednesday, but his offensive game and timing as a floor general need work.
Battling with picking his spots and speeds is the adjustment Harrison is dealing with.
“Knowing when to play fast, knowing when to slow the game down — that just comes with experience,” Harrison, who has under 30 games of NBA experience, said Friday after shootaround.
There’s a challenge there for Harrison, specifically. While not seen as a scorer, his speed and athleticism translate to a great slasher and attacker of the basket when the space is there. Obviously, that happens the most in transition.
“I like to play fast,” he said. “That’s my advantage and I think we can thrive on that.”
The position, however, asks for far more than that and Harrison is aware.
The wall he has to break through of mastering his timing is one every young point guard comes up against at some point in their career, and he’s staring right at it.
“That’s what we want to do,” Harrison said of playing quickly. “But then also I got to learn when to slow it down as well because that’s what this league is. It’s about pace, it’s about patience — it’s not always 100 miles an hour.”
Of Harrison and the two rookie point guards on the roster, at least one of them will have to do that learning in a meaningful role for the Suns with the current roster outlook. That’s one of the many reasons an outcry for a point guard acquisition by general manager Ryan McDonough continues.
