The Phoenix Suns have themselves something in Bol Bol. If sustainable, it could shift the entire dynamic of the team.
While he will remain a fan favorite, it’s time to start taking Bol Bol seriously if you aren’t already.
The Phoenix Suns already added Royce O’Neale and Thaddeus Young to shore up their playoff rotation, but this whole time Bol Bol could’ve been the missing piece that puts them over the top. Yes, the veteran additions were much needed, but Bol’s emergence raises the ceiling for a team with championship aspirations.
Was he hiding in plain sight this whole time
Bol Rising
Bol Bol over his last three games: 15.0 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 1.7 BPG on 70.6% TS in 21.5 minutes per game. It’s not just the raw numbers with efficiency that stand out, but the lack of turnovers (only one in his last six games) that pops for me.
His recent surge has caught the attention and respect of Suns’ superstar Kevin Durant, whom he has a close relationship with.
Durant said: “He’s been more than I expected. His intangibles, his work ethic, his IQ, all the stuff that I didn’t really think about when it comes to Bol, that’s the foundation of his game.”
The big man is sinking shots over LeBron James with confidence. Then, on the next possession, he catches it in the corner he attacks the aggressive closeout. That’s what we call growth.
The confidence started far before these past few games, as he displayed a few flashes of brilliance before that foot injury that sidelined him for a bit.
That being said, the breakout game against the Rockets has catapulted him into a rotation mainstay.
The length he provides in closeouts also adds an element of size that the Suns have lacked from their “non-centers” in the past.
His ability to successfully play alongside either Nurkic/Eubanks and Durant at the same time adds dynamic to this Phoenix team that makes them dangerous. This could just be the tip of the iceberg, too. There are some fun lineups they can mix and match with pseudo-fives Thad Young or Royce O’Neale paired with Durant and Bol that have me excited.
He’s eliminating the boneheaded turnovers and he has found the perfect blend of apt shot selection and confidence.
That balance of being confident yet decisive can often be the determining factor of whether or not a young player can hang come crunch time in clutch situations or a playoff environment.
Contesting
Bol’s activity in contesting shots is something that may not get the praise it deserves, but that’s what our Bright Side Staff is for.
I highly recommend reading this piece from our Stephen PridGeon-Garner: Stephen’s Study: The Bol Bol Effect is sustaining and he’s staking his claim in the main rotation
Here, Stephen goes in-depth on Bol’s ability to contest shots and what impact that has on the Suns’ defense as a whole.
This stood out to me the most in his piece:
Bol + Durant — 48 minutes, DEFRTG of 98.10
– 108 non-garbage time possessions — 97.1 DEFRTG (the equivalent of a 100th percentile tandem), and 81.1 in the halfcourt.
Bol + Durant + Eubanks — 23 minutes, 88.2
Bol Bol is here to stay, folks. If he can remain healthy and improve his in-game conditioning/stamina, this could truly be a breakout happening right before our eyes.
