As the weeks of the 2011-2012 NBA season go on, it is becoming increasingly clear the Phoenix Suns have very little to offer outside of Steve Nash and Marcin Gortat. They've struggled to get consistent production of any kind beyond their point guard and center, and their win-loss record reflects that. In the past few years, a Suns fan might see a new player make a strong contribution every night; now, the fan is surprised if there's any contribution on a given night. Former stalwart players like Grant Hill, Channing Frye, and Jared Dudley just aren't producing this season, and none of the new additions have been particularly effective.
Formulating the player thermometer beyond the Nash/Gortat tandem becomes an increasingly difficult task of determining who's put forth the least amount of suck. But here we go. Last week's rankings are in parentheses:
1. Steve Nash (1): Nash once again had a steller week for Phoenix. Nash averaged 13 points and 10 assists a game this week, including 17 points and 14 assists in a narrow loss to the Raptors. Against Memphis, Nash had a team-high 21 points and led the Suns to their only victory this week. In his last 10 games, Nash is averaging 10.3 assists. (Ryan Bafaloukos)
2. Marcin Gortat (2): Gortat remains one of the team's only consistent producers. While his double-double streak came to an end against Portland (playing shortened minutes due to the embarrassing blowout loss), he's now averaging 14.8 points and 10.1 rebounds on the season. Perhaps he's not a great team's ideal go-to scorer, but the Suns have needed every point he's put up. (Justin Burning)
3. Grant Hill (3): Despite what was stated in the intro, Grant Hill had himself a nice week. He averaged 12.8 points and four rebounds, and provided some spark at the wing position. However, for a team criticized for possessing a gluttony of wings, production from that position has been very weak. Let's hope Hill's on an upswing. (JB)
4. Jared Dudley (4): Dudley jumped up the ranks for his play on Saturday night. His box score looked more like what Suns fans are accustomed to: 20 points, six boards, four assists, and three steals. Unfortunately, in the three games before that during the week, he totaled 17 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, and four steals. (Jess Root)
5. Hakim Warrick (10): Warrick averaged 22 minutes per game this week in three games played. He was impressive against Toronto, putting up 17 points and four assists in the narrow loss. Warrick was also solid off the bench against Memphis, scoring eight points and grabbing six rebounds. In total this week, Warrick averaged 11 points and five rebounds a game. (RB)
6. Sebastian Telfair (11): Bassy got himself some regular rotation minutes after Ronnie Price struggled to do much of anything in a starter's role. His production was decent against Portland, though he was playing garbage minutes. That play earned him "first guard off the bench" status in the win against Memphis, but he didn't have a lot of impact. (JB)
7. Markieff Morris (8): Markieff's impact had lessened since the early part of the season, but he had a couple of nice games this week, including seven points and 11 rebounds against Dallas and 10 points and nine rebounds against Memphis. (JB)
8. Shannon Brown (5): Brown's erratic play earned him a DNP on Saturday. He did score 14 against the Dallas Mavericks, but he does not look to have a feel of what the team wants to accomplish on offense. He shoots with reckless abandon. Think Mikael Pietrus. Then remember what happened to him. (JR)
9. Channing Frye (6): Frye had a quiet week, only averaging 3.5 points per game. Frye did have seven rebounds against Portland, but he only had two points and three rebounds against Memphis, and did not score more than five points in any game this week. Frye was also 2-for-13 from behind the arc this week. (RB)
10. Ronnie Price (7): Price seemed like a perfect value pickup in the offseason, but his production has dropped off dramatically as of late. This week, he averaged two points, 0.25 assists, and 1.75 steals a game in 15.75 minutes. He's been playing more off-point and it hasn't really worked out for the other Ron-Ron. (JB)
11. Josh Childress (13): Childress saw playing time for the first time since January 8th this week, seeing action in two games this week and scoring four points against Portland. Childress shot 40% from the field this week. (RB)
12. Robin Lopez (9): RoLo continues to founder this year, despite a strong performance on opening day. A stupid foul and a stupid ref-bump caused Lopez to be ejected from the Toronto game, be suspended from the Portland game, and get a DNP-CD for the Memphis game. It would seem Robin's tenure with the Phoenix Suns may be approaching its end, as trade rumors begin to leak out. (JB)
13. Michael Redd (12): Week 2 of the Michael Redd comeback saw him play little. In three games, he played a total of 16 minutes and hit one field goal. (JR)