Heat Check (Hiatus): Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns were playing solid basketball when the league went on hiatus in March, thanks largely in part to increases in personal production across the board. Whether those hot hands can continue on into the restart remains to be seen.

Both Aron Baynes and Ricky Rubio had started to heat up in March, Baynes averaging 22.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in three contests and Rubio dropping 18.8 points, 6.8 boards and 10.5 assists (up from 12.6, 4.5 and 8.8, respectively).

Both players, however, were ultimately faced with COVID-19 with Baynes being especially impacted by the virus.

Mikal Bridges, the versatile sophomore forward out of Villanova, was averaging 40.4 minutes per game for the squad in March and could be featured similarly in Orlando. Bridges put up 14.8 points per game in the new role.

Dario Saric, too, started to showcase more potential, flashing 18.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in March, versus the 9.5 and 5.9 he put up prior.

SLAM’s Heat Check series compares each individual player’s personal production in the month of March with their production prior. The goal is to get a sense of the direction in which players were trending when the league stood still. For a more in-depth description, check out our Heat Check (Hiatus Edition) introduction.

Heat Check Phoenix Suns

Team-by-Team Breakdown