This competition could be a little bit more cut and dry. Marquese Chriss played consistently for the Phoenix Suns while starting for the club last season. Dragan Bender on the other hand was sidelined with injury and was limited to playing time. However, Chriss’ starting job is not secure either. They both are still just going into their second season and Bender has a much higher ceiling than Chriss does. Bender did get to play more competitive basketball, because he played for his home country of Croatia in Euro FIBA. That extract experience playing in FIBA can definitely help the young big man grow. There is something fans should also note when comparing these two players.
Per 36 Minutes Table
| Rk | Player | G | GS | MP | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
| 1 |
Dragan Bender |
43 |
0 |
574 |
.354 |
.277 |
.483 |
.364 |
1.4 |
5.0 |
6.5 |
1.4 |
0.6 |
1.4 |
2.0 |
4.6 |
9.2 |
| 2 |
Marquese Chriss |
82 |
75 |
1743 |
.449 |
.321 |
.520 |
.624 |
2.0 |
5.2 |
7.2 |
1.2 |
1.4 |
1.4 |
2.2 |
5.4 |
15.6 |
Besides shooting percentages in general, they have very similar per 36 minutes stats. If Bender shows improvement in his shooting this preseason, the competition for the starting power forward position could easily heat up.
When it is all ironed out, personally I think Chriss keeps his starting job, however fans shouldn’t be surprised if Bender pushes for more playing time this season. If Chriss struggles at all and Bender showed improvement, Sun’s fans shouldn’t be surprised if head coach Earl Watson makes a change.