Is Jason Richardson the Key to the Suns Success?

It’s a fair question, and one I never thought I’d ask.

However, with the Suns loss in L.A. last night, I began to accept just how important Jason Richardson is to this Phoenix Suns team. Yes, Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire are just as valuable, but there is no denying the Suns are a much better team when J-Rich is playing well on both ends of the floor – as evidenced by the Suns losses in Orlando and Los Angeles.

To start, we must forget everything about the Jason Richardson we ‘think’ we know, and go by what he has shown us in the ‘09/10 season.

In the Suns two losses, Richardson scored a combined 5 points. Yes, a combined 5 points…think about that for a moment….In the Suns biggest wins of the year (at Boston, at Miami, at Philly) Richardson averaged 26 points per game, including 34 at Boston and 29 at Philly. In the Suns wins, he’s averaged about 53% shooting from the floor. In their 2 losses, he’s averaged a horrific 11% from the floor.

I’m a huge proponent that correlation does not mean causation, but in this case, the facts are hard to ignore. So…does the Suns success rest on the play of J-Rich? Yes and no.

Clearly, if the Suns are going to be a legitimate contender in the West they are going to need to shoot the ball well beyond the arc. When Richardson is feeling it, he’s as lethal as any player in the game. Watching him score 34 against the Celtics stifling defense was absolutely amazing, especially considering some of the shots he hit against a variety of defenders. He’s a key part of any scoring run the Suns produce and when he’s not hitting, i.e. 2-9, or 0-4, the Suns struggle.

Defensively, he’s much better than he gets credit for. I remember a key possession in the Celtics game where he trailed Ray Allen across the entire baseline against 3 screens and still managed to fight through them to stop Ray from shooting a three-pointer to get the Celtics to within 5. Instead, he stopped Allen’s shot and went down and drilled a three on the other end. It also helps that the Suns, as a team, are playing much better team-defense and helping out on the weak side the best they have in 5 years, but it’s clear that J-Rich works his butt off on both ends of the floor.

Perhaps it’s more of a team or momentum issue with J-Rich; if the Suns are hitting on all cylinders, that usually means J-Rich is as well. Has he carried the Suns to wins? Yes. Has he also contributed to losses? You bet. But the Suns become a much different and increasingly dangerous team when Jason is consistent and energetic.

More surprisingly, Richardson’s success actually doesn’t necessarily depend on Nash. Sure, he’ll get a couple nice dishes from Stevie in the paint each game, but Richardson is almost more deadly when he creates his own shot along the perimeter, whether it be off a screen or one on one. Richardson, more so than any player on the Suns, doesn’t have to rely on Nash to score the ball.

It’s much too early to truly tell, but keep an eye on Richardson’s stats in the coming games. If this starts to become a pattern, the Suns will need a career year from Jason to make some legitimate noise in the West.

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