Every Monday, Suns.com's Matt Petersen hands out his Suns Player of the Week award based on the previous seven-day stretch. 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 — Eric Bledsoe
Bledsoe's Sick Dish
It's only a matter of time before Bledsoe's consistency shines in wins. For now, it's a huge silver lining that is producing career-highs in points (22.2 ppg), assists (6.5 apg), steals (1.9 spg) and shooting percentage (45.9).
Bledsoe's passing might be the most underappreciated aspect of his improvement. The sixth-year guard churned out 29 assists last week, with eight of them going to backcourt running mate Brandon Knight.
When Bledsoe was on the court last week, the Suns' defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) was 100.3. When he sat, that number skyrocketed to 113.6.
Runner-Up Player of the Week — Alex Len
Len's Big Block
With Tyson Chandler unavailable due to a strained hamstring, the Suns' third-year center set up shop as the starting center during Phoenix's road trip. Len also sported the team's best point differential on the team with a plus-1.5.
The results are more than encouraging for the 22-year-old: 9.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 60.0 percent from the field. It was Len who came up with a huge block and a game-tying putback after a missed free throw in the final seconds of Sunday's loss at Memphis.