Suns coach Jeff Hornacek sees a role for Kendall Marshall
Jul 19, 2013, 10:54 PM | Updated: Jul 20, 2013, 3:18 pm
Kendall Marshall is entering his second year in the NBA. The former 13th overall draft pick of the Phoenix Suns didn’t make much of an impact in his rookie season, averaging just 3.0 points and 3.0 assists in 48 games.
Marshall is part of the Suns’ undefeated Las Vegas Summer League team and is still feeling his way around, averaging 7.0 points and 4.0 assists per contest.
Considering all the change that happened with the organization this past offseason — from the hiring of a new general manager and head coach to the acquisition of guards Eric Bledsoe and Archie Goodwin — many are wondering what Marshall’s place with the Suns is moving forward.
Head coach Jeff Hornacek isn’t definitive about it, but does see the former North Carolina star playing a role.
“We’ve talked about it,” Hornacek told Burns and Gambo on Arizona Sports 620 Friday. “The first vision is to see Goran (Dragic) and Eric (Bledsoe) out there together, but you need some other point guards out there.
“If we’re trying to be a fast-breaking team, sure there’s a spot for him. You never know how the roster is going to shake out at the end of the year — with guys at the two-spot also, but we’ll figure that out.”
While Marshall’s Summer League numbers are very similar to the stats he posted last year (7.0 points, 6.5 assists per game), there is an area where Hornacek has noticed some improvement in the point guard’s game.
“He’s shooting the ball with confidence,” Hornacek said. “We wouldn’t have won the second game of the Summer League without him making two big threes at the end of the game.”
Marshall is shooting both .444 from the field and three-point range, which is a stark improvement over his 2012-13 regular season percentages of .371 from the field and .315 from three-point territory.
