Even while he will always be a fan favorite, if you haven’t already, you should start considering Bol Bol seriously.
In order to strengthen their postseason rotation, the Phoenix Suns had already added Royce O’Neale and Thaddeus Young, but Bol Bol may have been the deciding factor this entire time. The arrival of veteran players was undoubtedly necessary, but Bol’s rise elevates the bar for a club hoping to win a championship.
Bol Bol’s stats over the last three games are as follows: 15.0 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 1.7 BPG on 70.6% TS in 21.5 minutes per contest. Not only do his efficiency figures look impressive, but I find it particularly noteworthy that he has had only one turnover in the last six games.
Kevin Durant, the standout player for the Suns, has taken notice of his recent rise and shown him respect.
“He’s been more than I expected,” Durant remarked. The cornerstone of Bol’s game is his intangibles, work ethic, IQ, and everything else about him that I never really gave much thought to.
Bol is someone we all love, but Fiz has a special place for him, according to Frank Vogel. He’s only attempting to instruct him in the game.
With confidence, the big man is sinking shots over LeBron James. Then, he attacks the aggressive closeout on the following possession after catching it in the corner. We refer to that as growth.
His confidence began far before these recent games, as he showed glimpses of brilliance prior to the foot injury that kept him out of action for a while, Nevertheless, he has become a rotation mainstay thanks to his breakthrough performance against the Rockets.
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.
