Phoenix Suns need ‘team effort’ to make up for loss of Eric Bledsoe

PHOENIX – Without Eric Bledsoe, it’s as if the Phoenix Suns are playing with one hand tied behind their back.

Not only have the Suns lost their primary ball handler but also their leading scorer.

The Suns’ offense highlights the point guard, and with Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, head coach Jeff Hornacek had two playmakers to push tempo.

Take one away and the offense slows down considerably.

Before Bledsoe was lost to a season-ending knee injury, the Suns were averaging almost 103.7 points per game. That number has dropped to 97.7, 20th-best in the league, in the seven games since Bledsoe’s absence.

Of course, not helping that scoring average are the Suns’ two worst scoring efforts of the season, 79 points at San Antonio on Dec. 30 and 77 points at the L.A. Lakers on Jan. 3.

“It’s a team effort,” Knight said following practice Monday. “Everybody has to step up. Guys just have to make the right plays. If we do the right thing, the ball will find the open guy and that guy will have the opportunity to put the ball in the basket.”

Knight has done his part.

After a 26-point performance against Miami last Friday, Knight has scored 23 or more in three of the past four games, pushing his season average to 19.7, just behind Bledsoe’s team-best mark of 20.4.

Knight can’t do it alone. He needs help.

The Suns have had three different leading scorers in the past seven games with Knight topping that category four times, T.J. Warren two times and Mirza Teletovic once.

Add Devin Booker’s recent run of five straight double-digit scoring games—the longest such streak by a Suns rookie since Leandro Barbosa in 2003-04—and it’s all hands on deck.

“I don’t know if we have a guy that we say, ‘OK, we’re going to throw the ball to and hey, try to go get us 25 or 30 points.’ So, it’s going to have to be that team effort,” Hornacek said. “They’re going to have to share the ball, move it around; and hopefully we get five, six guys in double figures and win that way.”

By the way, Bledsoe popped in to watch the end of Monday’s practice. It’s something he’s done a handful of times since his surgery, according to Hornacek.

Bledsoe was unavailable for comment.

At 13-26, the Suns will play their next three games on the road, starting with a visit to Indiana on Tuesday.

Backup point guard Ronnie Price (toe) is questionable, while center Alex Len will sit the game out to allow for a sprained left hand he injured Dec. 28 against Cleveland to heal.

“With what our record’s been lately, we’re just trying to get a win wherever we can and then try to build on it,” Hornacek said. “We won two games ago and then the Miami game we played pretty decent. They’re a good team, but it wasn’t good enough for us. These teams we’re playing are still pretty good teams.

“Our goal, whenever you go on the road, it’s a three-game trip; you want to win two of them, at least.”

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