NBA: Phoenix Suns Might Not Need Ricky Rubio To Return ASAP

The Phoenix Suns may not need Spanish sensation Ricky Rubio to return on the court as soon as possible as one player stepped up in his absence.

Suns fans were all witnesses of the passion and attitude back-up guard Jevon Carter has been bringing to the floor in the absence of Rubio, who suffered a knee injury. On Wednesday night, as the team tipped-off their season against the Sacramento Kings, Carter led the second unit with 11 points and, more importantly, helped lead the Suns in a thrilling comeback victory.

And during their victory against the Los Angeles Clippers Saturday night, Carter was in the Suns’ starting lineup for the first time. The former West Virginia point guard made the most of his opportunity, recording 8 points, 3 rebounds and tying career highs with 6 rebounds and 3 steals to beat the Clippers 120-112.

It is a bit too early to conclude but the Suns have caught the leagues attention as a “scrappy team” and one of the obvious reasons is their tremendous defense.

The team currently holds their opponents to just 41.4% from the field to secure the fifth spot in the league in the said category. Also, the Suns have improved in every single defensive category from a year ago.

Suns are now fourth in the NBA in forced turnovers. A key factor to that achievement can be attributed to Carter. The 24-year-old has proven that his trademark is applying pressure in the backcourt and forcing turnovers.

Teammates and coaches often describe Carter as “bulldog.” This is due to his defensive tenacity and unwillingness to back down to anyone on the court.

According to Carter himself, this isn’t anything new to his game as he’s been playing with that same aggression throughout his whole life.

“I would say it comes a lot from just the way I grew up,” Carter told Suns.com

“I always felt like I was overlooked. I always felt like there were guys that were talked about that were supposed to be better than I was and I always felt like I was better than them. It’s just a build up of anger and when I just go out there, I just play with that anger,” Carter revealed.

Suns Head Coach Monty Williams even admitted that he was trying to slow down Carter at times during game because “bulldog” gets all over people and apparently has “selective hearing.” After all this is what he “loves” about Carter’s game.

“Jevon just doesn't listen to me. He just goes nuts and hits shots and, defensively, he gets all over people and he has selective hearing. I'm just trying to scream to him to slow down. That's what I love about him. He just has a determination about him,” Williams said.