But through Phoenix’s first four preseason games, the 30-year-old sharpshooter has been an undeniable bright spot. While he probably won’t beat his career-high averages from a season where he only played 28 games (for a 20-46 Detroit Pistons squad, no less), his seamless fit with the Suns could unlock the most complete version of Luke Kennard that we’ve seen yet.
So what has Kennard shown so far, and what have he and the Suns had to say about his integration process? Can Phoenix finally crack the code on his bewilderingly low 3-point volume? And what else does he have to offer as a more complete player who insists he’s more than just a shooter?
Encouraging (forcing) Luke Kennard to take more 3s
As we’ve covered multiple times over at Suns After Dark, Kennard may be the second-most efficient 3-point shooter in league history, but part of his success lies in his selectiveness. Despite canning an absurd 44.2 percent of his triples, Kennard has only averaged 4.3 attempts per game for his career, and he’s only topped 5.0 attempts per game in three of his nine seasons.
So much like LeBron James, JJ Redick and the Los Angeles Lakers tried last season, the Suns have been constantly in Kennard’s ear about letting it fly whenever he has an inch of space.
“I think it’s gonna be fun to play with him, because I’m gonna tell him to shoot every time he catches it,” Collin Gillespie said at Media Day.
Kennard understands the expectations that come with being a renowned sniper who’s also the new arrival, especially for a team that just lost Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale over the summer. Coach Jordan Ott found a new way to try and get through to Kennard and convey how many extra 3s he wants him to take.
“As soon as I got here, phone calls, texts, talking to guys, teammates, coaches — like, they want me to shoot, and they want me to shoot a lot, whether it’s wide open or some difficult shots here and there,” Kennard said. “I remember talking to coach Ott, he was like, ‘Hey, I know you’ve led the league in 3-point percentage, you did it last year.’ He’s like, ‘I don’t know if we’ll get that this year, because I want you to take more difficult shots.’ And for me as a player, it kind of builds confidence in you.”
Through four preseason games, at least, the message has clearly resonated. Kennard is averaging 10.3 points in just 16.8 minutes per game, and he’s doing it while taking 4.0 3-point attempts per game. That doesn’t sound like much, but that equates to 8.6 attempts per 36 minutes — which would tie his career-high mark on a per-36 basis from 2023-24.
Granted, it’s a small sample size, it’s only preseason, and Kennard did start in one of those four games. It’s also worth noting that he’s only shot 5-for-16 from deep in preseason, which is an uncharacteristic 31.3 percent. But the Suns will live with that lower percentage as he adjusts to this new approach in meaningless exhibition games, because his willingness to pull the trigger is the most important thing right now:
These are the types of contested movement 3s and even step-back attempts that Kennard has hesitated to launch in recent years. If the Suns are going to be the ones to finally get through to this longtime veteran in his 10th year, the constant encouragement will help, but there’s really only one person who can make it happen.
“Yeah, that’s on him,” said Dillon Brooks, a former teammate of Kennard’s from their time together on the Memphis Grizzlies. “He’s such a humble basketball player. He’s shot the ball 40 percent, been top-five in the NBA in 3-point percentage, so we need him to shoot more and not to be so humble about it.”
The 3s may not be falling at an acceptable clip right now, but that’ll improve as he gets more comfortable, the games start mattering, and the law of averages wins out for one of the deadliest 3-point snipers the NBA has ever seen.
“I definitely take a lot of pride in how I shoot — being consistent, efficient throughout the entire year,” Kennard said. “And then this year, ever since I signed here, it’s teammates, coaches, everybody, you know, ‘Shoot more. Shoot more, and more difficult shots.’ I’m excited for that, but I remember playing against these guys last year, especially the way that they played. They were tough to guard. To be a part of that now, it’s gonna be a lot of fun.”
In terms of how Kennard will get his shots, he has an immense amount of gravity because he’s comfortable knocking down 3s from anywhere on the court. That’s prompted him to work on the finer details with his new teammates, including his big men in Oso Ighodaro and Khaman Maluach, so that the Suns can generate a shot that defenses are actively working to prevent.
“Obviously a lot of teams are gonna try to take that away from me, so finding a spot within this offense, playing off of guys, playing with the ball, more shots off the dribble,” Kennard explained. “Whether it’s pick-and-roll, playing pitch action with some of the bigs, with Man Man and O, we’ve been really good at developing that connection.”
More than just a shooter: Spacing, screening, driving and playmaking
Of course, Luke Kennard’s value isn’t just derived from the 3-point line. The title of “floor spacer” extends well beyond what shows up in the 3-point column, and it’s part of the reason Kennard has worked on his screening over the years.
“Just the ability to attract the defense, I think spacing is very — it obviously doesn’t show up on a box score or anything like that, but being able to space the floor and allowing guys like this much more space, it can change everything in an offense,” Kennard said. “So I think for me, No. 1 is being a good screener. I learned from some of the greats in the game, like Steph (Curry), for example. He’s a great screener. And you don’t see that a lot, but it’s reasons why he gets open, because he sets good screens and guys gotta help.”
As such, Kennard has been working as a screener with Devin Booker and Collin Gillespie, two pull-up threats that will put opponents in a bind if the defense is trying to cover those guys while also worrying about Kennard leaking out for 3 after setting a screen.
And because opponents have to close out hard on such a high-caliber shooter, that opens up his drives and secondary playmaking when he gets run off the 3-point line. Jalen Green and Miles Bridges should help with the rim pressure, but don’t sleep on Kennard being able to boost Phoenix’s rim rate.
“Grayson (Allen), last year, he was a guy that was able to do both, where he could really shoot 3s and he could shoot it from deep, but he also was really good at putting pressure on the rim and driving the ball — not just for himself but to create for others,” Collin Gillespie said. “And I think that’s something where Luke is really good at that, picking his spots.”
We’ve already seen it a bit in preseason. When Kennard gets run off the 3-point line, when the on-ball defender loses focus because they’re trying to make sure he doesn’t see any space on the perimeter, or when he’s moving all over the court as an off-ball cutter, Kennard can supply extra rim pressure and get Phoenix a few easy ones:
This is where that synergy with Ighodaro and Maluach will come in handy, but Kennard also shot 78 percent at the rim on his own during that Los Angeles Lakers stint last season, according to Cleaning The Glass.
Kennard also shot 56.6 percent on drives last season, which was the 15th-highest percentage in the NBA among 148 players who recorded at least 400 drives. Being smart, crafty and efficient around the rim helped, but that high conversion rate on drives was undoubtedly bolstered by his nifty little midrange game.
Whether he’s getting all the way to the cup or pulling up for a middy against a defender who’s frantically trying to recover, Luke Kennard has spent a lot of time fine-tuning his ability to attack bad closeouts on the perimeter.
“It’s something I work on every day now,” he said. “Obviously over the last few years of being one of the knockdown shooters, you gotta add something else, ‘cause teams are taking that away. You gotta find something else to do, and playing within this offense especially, just being a playmaker, being a basketball player. For me, like when I was in college, I loved being in the midrange, footwork, kind of that ‘old man game’ kinda thing. But I like getting in the paint and either finishing, hitting a midrange shot or just making the right play out of it.”
Whether it qualifies as an “old man game” or not, Kennard has made it look good in preseason, confidently slithering his way into his spots for efficient midrange looks.
Despite only shooting 5-for-16 from 3 in preseason, Kennard is still shooting 48.5 percent overall, and that’s because of how efficient he’s been at the rim and in the midrange.
Kennard isn’t a selfish player, however. When he gets run off the 3-point line, he’s fully capable of attacking the gaps to force the help defense to rotate over, at which point he can find open shooters, cutters or dump-offs in the dunker spot.
“We got a lot of scorers, a lot of players that can get downhill, so he’s gonna find easy ones to shoot,” Dillon Brooks said. “But he’s more than just a shooter, he can be the backup point guard for us, he can facilitate or find ways to get into the paint and playmake. So I missed playing with Luke, for sure.”
“I always need to be ready to shoot, that’s obviously my first thing, and then whenever there’s a different situation, if I’m playing off a closeout, how can I create an advantage for our team?” Kennard added. “And how can we keep that advantage and make the right play and get a good shot every time?”
Kennard’s 2.8 assists per game in preseason don’t exactly leap off the page, but that’s the equivalent of 5.9 assists on per-36-minutes basis. That’s more than double the 2.5 assists per 36 minutes he averaged during the Lakers’ playoff run last year, and it would be a career high if that number held up during the regular season.
We should note that per-36 averages don’t always hold up when players actually, ya know, play 36 minutes, but his recent postseason experience with LA, coupled with his natural fit in Phoenix, could unlock the playmaking component of Kennard’s game like never before.
“Last year in the playoffs with the Lakers, he was their point guard when everybody was out,” Brooks said. “He was finding ways to score, finding ways to get guys involved, finding ways to attack the paint and playmake. So I already know he’s more than just a shooter….We definitely need him to shoot more, but overall, we need — injuries, whenever — lineups where we need him to playmake and show us his intelligence on the basketball court.”
Luke Kennard’s most complete season yet?
Over the last few weeks, Luke Kennard has used some variation of the phrase, “this is an opportunity to just be a basketball player” at least 4-5 times. He’s referred to the Suns as a “seamless fit” multiples times as well, and the early results seem to pair nicely with his genuine excitement for how he’s meshing with new and former teammates alike.
“It shows that I’m a good fit, I think,” Kennard said after dropping 20 in the Suns’ third preseason game. “I really believe this is a great fit for me and who I am as a player and the way that I play. There’s a lot of just freedom of movement out there, and those connections are huge when it comes to that, just knowing the type of spots that you’re gonna be in, shots that you want to take.
“I’ve played with a couple of these guys, like (Jordan Goodwin), I’ve played with him, I played with Dillon before back in Memphis, so I know some guys, I’ve asked a lot of questions about the group, like, getting close with some guys. It’s been a lot of fun, and like I said, I think the fit is really good.”
Kennard seems to be enjoying the Suns’ system, how they play, the movement, and yes, the opportunity to show he’s a well-rounded player, not a one-dimensional one.
“This is gonna be an opportunity for me to be a basketball player, not just a shooter,” Kennard said. “And I’m excited for that.”
If that just so happens to coax out Luke Kennard’s ever-elusive career-high 3-point rate and all of the midrange efficiency, rim pressure and secondary playmaking we’ve talked about? Even better.
“I mean, I’m sure we’re not the first place to ask him, your best shooter, to shoot more shots,” Jordan Ott said. “I think that seems pretty normal. But just go make the right play. Hopefully provide some different environments to where he’s finding little pockets in different ways we do things, but he has the freedom to move because of his gravity and his skill-set. And as we continue to learn him, hopefully we can unlock even more.”
For more of Gerald Bourguet’s Suns work, check back with Sports360AZ on a weekly basis, subscribe to his Patreon articles and podcast at Suns After Dark, or follow him on Twitter.
The post Luke Kennard’s seamless fit with Suns could unlock the best version of himself first appeared on Sports360AZ.
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