Alex Len Should Start Over Miles Plumlee

The Phoenix Suns have struggled out of the gate this season with an 11-8 record and 8th position in the NBA Western Conference. With the team struggling with consistent scoring the focus has turned to the teams two young centers Miles Plumlee and Alex Len.

Plumlee is the starter so far this season has stalled in his developement as a scorer down low.  After averaging 8.1 points in 2013, Mile Plumnlee is averaging just 5.6 points this season with practically the same amount of playing time.

Despite his slumping numbers General Manager Ryan McDonough came to the defense of his center during a radio interview with Arizona Sport 98.7 Burns and Gambo show. 

"“I think Miles has played pretty well recently,” he said. “He was one of our few bright spots [Sunday] against Orlando. I think he was 6-for-6 from the floor. He protects the rim for us. He starts our fast breaks. I’ve been happy with his play.”"

The Suns GM noted that the production from the center position is currently the teams expectations meeting expectations.

"“We’re happy with the production we’re getting from those guys,” he said. “Like with a lot of young guys, we’d obviously hope they’d get more consistent. And I think they will get more consistent over time. But, they’ve done a solid job; they’ve played their role, and they’ve certainly given us enough to win so far.”"

Plumlee has started over Alex Len every game this season and has logged 23.4 minutes per game.  Len, the suns former 5th overall pick, has average just 18.4 whil backing up Plumlee.

Together the pair average 10.8 points and 11 rebounds per game. Overall not bad production from the position.  That said, there could be a way to get some additional production out of the pair of big men if you flipped the minutes.

Both centers are averaging around 5 points per game, but Len is doing it with about 5 fewer minutes.  If you carried each players numbers out toa 36 minute average, Alex Len would average about 10 points a game while Plumlee would average just 8. Len would also get 1 rebound more (10) than the starter Plumlee (9).

Making decision based on stats is not always a guarantee of success but the number clearly illustrate that it may be worth it to give Len the bulk of the paying time at the five. The increase in production would be nominal at first but the extra minutes could hasten the developement of the Sun 2013 5th overall pick.

Its time to see what Alex Len can bring to the table as a starter.  He could be the x-factor in successful playoff run.