Every Monday, Suns.com's Matt Petersen hands out his Suns Player of the Week award based on the previous seven-day stretch (six this week due to Martin Luther King Jr., Day). Stats are always a good indicator, but other factors can also come into play (intangible impact, game-swinging spurts, etc.). The runner-up is also included because often, that second guy's impact was just as impressive as the first's.
Player of the Week — Isaiah Thomas
Isaiah With the Finish
Thomas went from having a bad hand to having a hot hand. The 5-9 guard had fluid drained from his hand and the difference was startling: 24.7 points per game, 51.1-percent shooting overall and 47.8 percent from three last week.
Thomas has now scored more than 20 points in four consecutive games after doing so just once over the previous 14. His scoring clip last week ranked 11th in the league.
Runner-Up Player of the Week — Eric Bledsoe
Bledsoe's Sick Assist
The fifth-year guard continued his stat-stuffing ways, going off for 25.0 points, 7.3 assists, 6.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals per contest. Bledsoe's efficiency was also way up. He shot 53.2 percent overall.
So why the runner-up treatment? We're picking nits at this point and blaming his three-point shot (21.4 percent). on the plus side, Bledsoe has hit at least one three-pointer over his last eight games and averaging 1.3 makes from downtowner per game in the month of January.