It’s crazy how Suns fans were blaming their rough patch, where they dropped six of seven games and just barely came away with a two-point win against the Wolves, on the absence of Aron Baynes. Not because I think Suns fans were being completely irrational in their insistence that Baynes was a vital part of their team who could single-handedly change their fortunes just by his presence, but because they were actually right. Baynes is playing so well this season that his absence is felt very clearly.
The three-point shooting. The toughness. The passing. The beard. The Australianness. The sitting on opponent’s hands to get them out of the game. All of those things are things that disappear (or at least regress) when Baynes is out of the lineup. Frank Kaminsky certainly can’t replicate all those things. Even Deandre Ayton, may god rest his soul, can’t replicate all those things. Baynes brought those things and when he went away and no one else provided those things, the Suns started losing games.
Now Baynes is back in the lineup and the winning ways have resumed. Wait, I’ve got my notecards mixed up again. Now Baynes is back in the lineup and the winning ways will resume once everybody gets acclimated to his presence again. There’s still that period of time where nobody wants to pass him the ball because at a glance they think it’s Kaminsky.