Doug Haller

azcentral sports

Without fail, at practice or in pregame shooting sessions, Brandon Knight is among the last to leave the court. Not long ago, with his teammates already in the locker room, the Suns backup guard stayed behind and launched 3-point shot after 3-point shot.

For most of the past six weeks, however, Knight's work ethic has not translated into consistency on the court. Halfway through his sixth season, it's hard to know what to expect from him. Just one example: On Feb. 6, he produced 12 points and six assists at New Orleans, one of his better games of the past two months. Four nights later, in a rare start at Houston, Knight shot 1 of 8 in one of his worst.

Asked what Knight needs to do to elevate his game, coach Earl Watson offered a simple solution: Stop thinking. Just play.

"Continue to push yourself and live in every moment,'' Watson said before Wednesday's home game against the Lakers. "You can't live in the past. You can't live in the future. You can't live in what you think should be. And that’s for anyone. I used to always say as a player, 'When you lose yourself to the game, to every possession, to every moment, you don’t have time to think.' When you think too much in this game, it becomes paralysis from analysis."

Throughout his first five seasons, Knight had started in 315 of 328 games. This year, Watson made the guard the Suns' sixth man, someone who could bring energy and scoring off the bench. At times, it's worked well. At others, it hasn't. Entering Wednesday, Knight averaged a career-low 11 points in 21 minutes. (He had averaged at least 31 minutes per season throughout his career.)

"He embraced his role,'' Watson said. "He doesn’t complain. He’s a true professional. I thought he had a solid game (in Monday's loss against New Orleans). I think he can build on last game. We'll see what happens tonight."

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Finishing strong

After Wednesday's contest, the Suns broke for the All-Star break. Before tipoff, however, Watson refused to discuss it. He wanted his team – which had lost 10 of 12 – focused on the Lakers and not their flight out of town.

"I wish I could talk about All-Star weekend, but we have a game that I think is pretty big for us,'' Watson said. "Getting back on track and playing the right way, continuing to grow and developing."

For similar reasons, guard Devin Booker called Wednesday's contest a "must-win."

Besides, Watson said he thought the Feb. 23 trade deadline was a bigger distraction. Several Phoenix players – including forward P.J. Tucker, center Tyson Chandler, point guard Eric Bledsoe and backup center Alex Len – have had their names surface in trade speculation.

"The All-Star break to me," Watson said, "if you love to play basketball, then that natural competitive nature should be in you, whether it's tonight or playing pick-up somewhere."

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Free throw

After Monday's loss, Tucker suggested the Suns might be letting the officiating – particularly when calls go against them – affect them too much. Watson's reaction: "We're at a point in our season where, for me, I would rather see our guys keep their emotions in check, but you can't hold your emotion with some of those calls. We know our guys care and we'll just move forward."