Jevon Carter Needs More Minutes in Phoenix
Jevon Carter is no stranger to adversity. From being under recruited coming out of high school, to getting overlooked at the division one level, to falling into the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft. Carter is in familiar territory under head coach, Monty Williams in Phoenix.
| PPG | RPG | APG | MPG | FG % | 3P % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.3 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 14.3 | 40.9 | 42.2 |
Now, let's play a game. Imagine you were presented with the following season stat line above. Without knowing who the player was, what would be your initial reaction?
Assuming you just looked at the stat line, you gawked and assumed that player A was to blame, but what if it wasn't entirely player A's fault? What if an organization was holding player A back? What if a coaching staff was holding player A back? If it wasn't obvious enough, player A is Mr. Treadmill Mentality himself, Jevon Carter.
First, let's look at the resume of Phoenix Suns head coach, Monty Williams. He has coached in 394 total games, equating to a 173-221 record. He has been to the playoffs twice and both times went home before his team even could get off the bus. Having said all of that, this article isn't just to downgrade Williams as an NBA coach. In fact, the potential for Williams is entirely present.
However, there is a reason the man has an underwhelming overall record as a head coach. He hasn't had a lot of talent surrounding him. Looking at this current Phoenix Suns roster, it's evident that simply is just not the case anymore. The team is dripping with talent and amongst that talent lies West Virginia's little secret, Jevon Carter.
With Carter, you know what you are going to get. A competitor who is going to do whatever it takes for his team to win. The only problem, it's not easy to do that getting inconsistent minutes every other night. Monty Williams needs to figure out his rotation because right now, he is limiting one of the league's finest young lockdown players.
Carter is always going to come in and provide his team with meaningful minutes. Where his game is inconsistent comes at the offensive end, but not by much. He is shooting the three ball better than he ever has this season but from the floor, he's down. Now, just imagine Carter gets 20-25 minutes every single night. Imagine the type of rhythm Carter would be able to get into offensively. If you give a guy random rotational minutes every single night, that player is never going to get into a comfortable rhythm.
This is the reason that Williams needs to figure this out. He must find a way to get Carter more minutes because if he doesn't, he will lose something special. The Suns are onto something out in Phoenix and Jevon Carter needs to be a part of it.