Phoenix Suns cling to playoff hope without Eric Bledsoe

Paul Coro | The Arizona Republic

When Eric Bledsoe went out for knee surgery two years go, then-Suns guard Goran Dragic stepped up his play to an all-NBA third-team level and kept the Suns in the playoff race during a 48-34 season.

Last season, the Suns won 28 of their first 48 games.

In this grim time of losing Bledsoe to Tuesday’s season-ending knee surgery, the 12-21 Suns refuse to let go of their playoff aspirations, holding on to hope that they can repeat those scenarios.

Other players, such as Bledsoe’s new backcourt mate, Brandon Knight, have to rise to the occasion. With 49 games left it would take having a finish like last year’s start to get into this season’s more forgiving Western Conference playoff picture.

“You put up a 28-20 and you’re going to be in the playoffs probably,” Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. “We’ve just got to continue to play. Hopefully, (Monday’s 101-97 loss to Cleveland) was a good sign of the way the guys played. Hopefully, they can continue that and we can win some of these games and get a little streak going.”

Bledsoe will miss the remainder of the season after team physician Dr. Thomas Carter performed surgery on Bledsoe’s left knee Tuesday morning. Carter repaired the meniscus that tore significantly when Bledsoe swerved on defense around a screen during Saturday’s loss to Philadelphia. A meniscus removal could have returned Bledsoe, 26, to the court this season but repairing the knee joint cartilage could help Bledsoe’s long-term health.

“Repairing is probably the best thing to happen,” Hornacek said. “You’re out longer but it’s the best thing for your joint and your knee. If you just cut it out, you wind up being bone on bone. Unfortunately for us, it’s the long one. But fortunately for him, it’s probably the better thing for him.”

Bledsoe tore the meniscus in his right knee while with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2011. He underwent surgery to repair it and then had it removed in January 2014 while with the Suns, sidelining him for about 10 weeks.

Bledsoe returned at the end of that 2013-14 season and started 81 games last season, missing one game for the birth of his son.

This season, Bledsoe was the Suns' leading scorer and playmaker, averaging career highs for points (20.4), assists (6.1), steals (2.0) and turnovers (3.5) while shooting 45.3 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from 3-point range.

With Bledsoe out, Knight takes on the primary role of running the offense, as he has for Detroit and Milwaukee over his first 3 1/2 seasons before coming to Phoenix’s two-playmaker system. The Suns are adapting the lineup and offense to be more traditional with rookie Devin Booker starting at off-guard and running plays that initiate offense from other positions.

On a five-game losing streak, the Suns will be hard-pressed to turn it around swiftly with games at San Antonio tonight and Oklahoma City on Thursday night.

“I’ll continue to do what I’ve been doing and be myself and it’ll work out,” Knight said. “I’m not really worried about it. I’ve been in this position before. We’ve got a lot of young guys. We’ve got some veteran guys. For me, it’s just about doing what I can do to help the team.

“It’s something that I’ve done before. I’ve done it here, even when I come off the bench and Eric comes out of the game. I’ve done it. I’ve done it my entire career.”

Bledsoe went out for knee surgery when the Suns were 19-11 in the 2012-13 season. The team went 17-16 before he returned to action but only four other players remain from that team.

”Whenever one of your best players goes out, it’s time for other guys to step up,” Hornacek said. “They can’t try to say, ‘Oh, I’m going to be the guy that steps up.’ You’ve just got to let it come. There’s going to be more opportunities out there. And then it kind of naturally happens. Whoever it will be, they have this stretch of 50 games to make that step. It could be good for us in the long run. It’ll give some of these guys more of an opportunity to play and get better.”

Reach Paul Coro at paul.coro@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-2470. Follow him at www.twitter.com/paulcoro.

Wednesday night’s game

Suns at Spurs

When: 6:30 p.m.

Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio.

TV/radio: FSAZ/KMVP-FM (98.7).

Spurs update: San Antonio (27-6) became only the third Western Conference team to start a season 18-0 at home with Monday’s 101-95 win against Minnesota without Tim Duncan (sore right knee). Only the 1978 Portland Trail Blazers and 1986 Houston Rockets had done that. The Spurs are the No. 2 team in the NBA for offensive and defensive field goal percentage, rank second in assists, third in rebounding percentage and first in scoring defense. Kawhi Leonard is on the MVP short list for averaging 20.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals while being one of the league’s best defenders. In his first Spurs season, LaMarcus Aldridge has shot 47.1 percent from the field and averaged 15.4 points and 8.7 rebounds.\