Jevon Carter Limited in Suns Rotation

Former Mountaineer Jevon Carter started off his second year hot, but what has happened since?

It was an exciting start to the NBA season for West Virginia basketball fans. Former Mountaineer Jevon Carte took the Talking Stick Resort Arena by storm by way of his bulldog mentality style of play.  

Carter averaged around 24 minutes per game through the first four games of the Suns season. However, his playing time has decreased significantly since. In his next 15 games, Carter only saw 10+ minutes in five of the fifteen contests. 

In five of those games, Carter did not even touch the floor.  In those five games without Carter, the Suns went just 1-4. This left not only West Virginia fans, but even Suns fans confused.

So, exactly why is Jevon Carter being shorted of minutes following his sharp start to the season?  

Well, it starts with Sun's head coach Monty Williams. Williams decided to start the season off with a 10-man rotation, but guard Ty Jerome injured his ankle and Deandre Ayton got drilled with a 25-game suspension.  

The ankle injury to Ty Jerome was crucial for the initial breakout start for Carter. That followed by another injury to Ricky Rubio, another guard that was ahead of Carter on the depth chart, and boom, the Jevon Carter bulldog mentality was born right at the forefront of Phoenix Sun's fanatics.  

With the returns of both Jerome and Rubio, Carter's minutes have been shortened even more. In fact, after the Suns 16-point loss to the Heat in game eight of the season, Carter has averaged just around six minutes per game.  

As of right now, ESPN lists Carter as the sixth guard on the Suns. Right behind Booker, Rubio, Jerome, Okobo and Johnson.  

The Suns are hopeful that Carter can continue to develop through the remainder of the season. Carter is handling the lack of minutes just like a seasoned veteran, with grace.  Even the lack of playing time hasn't stopped Carter from being the Sun's biggest sideline hype man.  

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