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We are only nine games through the season, so any stats involving team lineups need to come with a disclaimer due to the small sample size. However, the Suns' starting lineup of Bledsoe, Knight, Tucker, Chandler and Morris has played 127 minutes together and boasts an offensive rating of 110.5 and a defensive rating of 95.5. That net rating of +15.0 is among the best in the NBA.

Replace Tucker with Warren and you get a much different result. The four starters plus Warren have logged just 23 minutes together through six games, but that makes them the 3rd-most commonly used Phoenix lineup. And the results so far have been disastrous, as that unit has a net rating of -28.6 and an effective field-goal percentage of just 40.2 percent.

As long as the Suns continue to have such an effective starting lineup, there's no reason for a change. I think most would agree that T.J. Warren is playing better than P.J. Tucker and that he has a very promising future. But due to match up reasons it simply makes more sense to keep Tucker in the starting lineup until it stops being an effective strategy. In the meantime, coach Hornacek can continue to reward Warren with more minutes, perhaps getting to the point where Warren's playing time will actually eclipse Tucker's. Warren can also be given more of a taste of playing time in clutch situations, but Tucker should still be the go-to option at small forward in key moments.

JMac1 wrote:I prefer TJ......it is not a real breaking point for me anymore with Leuer in the starting lineup. I think Leuer over Kieff is more important that TJ or PJ, especially if Bledsoe continues being the smooth operator.

Scutt wrote:I just want him to get more minutes to develop. I am nervous that if he becomes a starter and we miss out on the playoffs, we will see another situation like with Len, and he will lose his role to some 30 year old in a bid to increase the chances at capturing the illustrious 8th seed. Young players need consistent defined roles, and I hate to think our young guys might not reach their full potential because the Suns keep straddling the fence on trying to be a playoff team and developing their draft picks.

bwgood77 wrote:

Scutt wrote:I just want him to get more minutes to develop. I am nervous that if he becomes a starter and we miss out on the playoffs, we will see another situation like with Len, and he will lose his role to some 30 year old in a bid to increase the chances at capturing the illustrious 8th seed. Young players need consistent defined roles, and I hate to think our young guys might not reach their full potential because the Suns keep straddling the fence on trying to be a playoff team and developing their draft picks.

I imagine his minutes will slightly increase throughout the season. I think being the sixth man is perfect for his development because he will always be the primary scorer, unless he is playing with one of our starting guards, but even then he will be the secondary scorer. I don't really want his role to be reduced to the 4th option on offense.

The same reason Bowen started over Manu all those years, when obviously Manu was the better scorer.

Saberestar wrote:I prefer Warren playing 30 minutes per game.
I don't care if he comes off the bench or starting but I think we would be a better team with him staying more minutes on the court.