HOUSTON – Suns interim coach Jay Triano had a simple piece of advice for forward Marquese Chriss earlier this season.
“When you run the floor hard,” Triano told Chriss, “you can fall into eight points.”
Triano believed then – and still does now – that if Chriss simply hustles, his elite athleticism will produce results. That’s been borne out the last six games, as Chriss has averaged 12.3 points on 48.2 percent shooting to go along with 7.3 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.
It’s the first stretch in which Chriss has again looked like the player he was in late December/early January before a hip injury slowed his progress.