"He's gonna have the ball in his hands a lot." Devin Booker on Jalen Green, a lead ball handler for Phoenix and learning he needn't make the hero play. Phoenix were near the league's bottom in shots at the rim last year; Booker says "unleashing Jalen" should change that.
Khaman Maluach getting more opportunity has helped Phoenix's offense, Devin Booker said at practice: "we found some different things that have been working for us." With Grayson Allen gone, he said, they lost 3-point shooting and "have to find ways to make up for that."
"I feel like we got the best bench unit in the league and to add me to it, it'll be great too." Miles Bridges will come off Phoenix's bench with Luke Kennard, Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin, and is picking up full court on defense for the first time since Michigan State.
"Doesn't mean who starts will end the game." Phoenix coach Jordan Ott has not settled on Mark Williams or Oso Ighodaro at center, to start or to close. Williams has more late-game experience when teams foul Ighodaro, who brings plenty else. Opener is Oct. 21 in Portland.
Suns coach Jordan Ott hopes Luke Kennard and Oso Ighodaro are back for opening night but didn't commit. Everyone else came out of the preseason healthy: "I think we're in a pretty good place there." Miles Bridges returned, and Ott called his defensive intent "high level."
"I feel great. I'm excited to play," a healthy Jalen Green said after the Suns' Oct. 16 game. He's slowing down from his Houston days as a table-setter, "not looking for my shot right away in the beginning of the offense," hunting the right pass and two feet in the paint.
"Oh no, I'm playing." Asked at the Phoenix Suns' Oct. 16 shootaround whether he'd sit, Dillon Brooks said he'd play and named Jaren Jackson as his matchup. The gap before the opener in Portland, he said, is "a good little stretch to... get practice in and get healthy."
The Suns' starting center job is still open. At shootaround, Oso Ighodaro said he doesn't know whether he or Khaman Maluach will start: "I don't know. We'll find out game 1." Both want it and prepare every day to start, he said.
Luke Kennard's knee: "I don't know how serious it is," Suns coach Jordan Ott said after the Oct. 14 game, adding they didn't want to stretch him in it. Asked about the Oct. 16 game, Ott wouldn't commit. They'll know more in Phoenix once they see how the knee responds.
Duop Reath is "a different piece that we didn't have, but we're going to change it to his strengths," Suns coach Jordan Ott said Oct. 12. Reath will still be asked to crash the glass and pressure the ball. Ott's rule on defense: "at all costs, we need someone at the rim."
Asked whether Miles Bridges plays next, Suns coach Jordan Ott wouldn't commit. The ankle is recovering at a good rate, he said, but "we're not going to press on if it's not perfect." Nothing new came up physically, he added: "everyone's trending in the right direction."
From Suns practice Oct. 12: more of the offense is running through the center. "Everyone's playing through their 5 a little bit more," and the plan is to keep building on it. Oso Ighodaro and Collin Gillespie were named in that answer.
Luke Kennard is being told to shoot more. Suns coach Jordan Ott called him the team's best shooter, likening his movement shooting to Kyle Korver and Joe Harris. Collin Gillespie's message after a 48% three-point season: "shoot first and ask questions later."
Khaman Maluach got more center minutes than Oso Ighodaro on Oct. 10, but Suns coach Jordan Ott said "the next night you never know." Ott called it the rookie's best performance yet. Phoenix ran its offense through him at times with Victor Wembanyama staying in the paint.
The plan is for most Suns players to sit one of the next two preseason games, Jordan Ott said, but not which: "One of these 2. But we'll see. It's very fluid." They practice Oct. 12 and "see where we're at" Oct. 14. Center depth "took a hit with Mark" Williams; no detail given.
Luke Kennard started for the Suns in his first home game, Oct. 10, and said he wants to bring more than shooting: "a lot of movement, a lot of chaos on offense." He remembers the crowd from visiting and is excited to play for it. "Ooh, Phoenix gonna love some Luke Kennard."
Miles Bridges' ankle X-ray was negative and he "avoided anything serious," Suns coach Jordan Ott said, but Ott wouldn't commit to him playing the next game: it depends on how he bounces back. "It's the preseason, so we'll be smart." Bridges got on the court a little.
Rasheer Fleming and Ryan Dunn aren't fighting for one rotation spot, Suns coach Jordan Ott said: "I don't think it's a battle. It's just we need all the reps we can get right now with those two guys." He called Dunn steadier with the ball and praised Fleming's hands and length.
New Suns Luke Kennard and Miles Bridges will be asked to help and pressure on defense, coach Jordan Ott said: "We're going to ask them to tag. We're going to ask them to pressure." He said their impact already shows on a deeper, bigger roster.
Jalen Green said he's comfortable running the Suns' offense: "I feel comfortable bringing the ball up... get into the paint, draw 2, make the right read on the outside." He said he needs to slow down, not play at one speed. Asked if Phoenix can make the playoffs: "Yeah, 100%."
Miles Bridges tweaked his ankle on a freak play, and Jordan Ott said it "sucked the wind out of" a Suns group that had been playing well this preseason. No update; evaluation Oct. 8. "It didn't look that bad," Ott said. If Bridges can go next game, he plays.
Oso Ighodaro started at center for the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 5. Coach Jordan Ott's reason: "Oso was really good last year. Top 10 defensive center." He said lineups will change: "trying to figure out who plays with who, that's what this is all about right now."
Dillon Brooks handled the ball less by design for the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 5, playing as a catch-and-shoot option. "We just want Dillon to be Dillon," coach Jordan Ott said postgame. Injuries in January had required more of Brooks with the ball, Ott said.
Phoenix's starters sat the second half by design. "We wanted to play all their minutes in the first half," Jordan Ott said, building conditioning and keeping players healthy. Kennedy Chandler's fourth-quarter minutes were "off script": pressure demanded an extra ball handler.
Phoenix's Jordan Goodwin says having Miles Bridges and Dillon Brooks means he'll guard more guards, fewer of the taller forwards he took last season. Point guard is his easiest spot, running the bench and getting Collin Gillespie going. On Jalen Green, he gave no update.
Asked if all but Mark Williams will be available Oct. 4, Suns coach Jordan Ott said "Yeah, seems that way." Khaman Maluach said everyone left the scrimmage healthy. Ott will build up heavy-minute players over five preseason games; they played 20 to 24 minutes in the scrimmage.
Luke Kennard may get a new defensive role. The Phoenix Suns are "going to ask to probably do something he hasn't done," coach Jordan Ott said. Kennard clicked instantly with Oso Ighodaro in a scrimmage, and Ott said "that's something we'll take advantage of."
Miles Bridges will take some of the Phoenix Suns' bigger-wing defensive matchups, coach Jordan Ott said: "we have multiple options to guard some of those bigger wings." Ott also wants Bridges in screens between smaller players so possessions don't stall into one-on-one.
Khaman Maluach says the Phoenix Suns' starting center job is open between him and Oso Ighodaro: "it's not guaranteed for any of us... to start." Coach Jordan Ott said Maluach will begin by defending "up and aggressive" against screens, dropping back at times.
Mark Williams is out, Luke Kennard said at Phoenix Suns practice, offering no reason or timeline. Kennard pointed to the roster instead: "Mark is out, but we have a really deep team which can play to our strengths."
Miles Bridges said the plan this year is to touch the paint more to open up shooters: "I get to the paint at will, and I got guys that know how to shoot." Collin Gillespie on a pickup scrap with Dillon Brooks: "I was ready to kill him." He called it just competing.
Suns practice: Jordan Ott set no date to name a starting center, saying he'll let the preseason play out and "the couple days going into it, we'll know." Miles Bridges will push the ball off defensive rebounds and run offense against pressure. Ott gave no Mark Williams update.
Ott: who starts and finishes at center will shift by matchup, but "once you get a starting center, you want to keep them for as long as you can." Miles Bridges is being asked to crash for rebounds on missed shots, new for him. Collin Gillespie says practice units change daily.
Ott called fouls the price of a more physical, turnover-hunting defense: "some of the fouling's okay because we want you to be so aggressive." Bridges said it breaks from the conservative style he's used to. On rebounds, Ott said: "if you're a crasher, you got to get 100%"
From Suns practice: Oso Ighodaro said Miles Bridges' size lets them switch "and we don't lose anything on either matchup," and named Ryan Dunn, Rasheer Fleming and Dillon Brooks as wings who can guard centers. His advice to rookie Koa Peat on Brooks: "Just to go at him."
From Phoenix's practice: Devin Booker: Suns have "been healthy through this camp so far," Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks included. On Brooks' DUI charge: no distraction, "he addressed the team also, so we're moving on." Coach Jordan Ott: rotation players get minutes first.
Ott said Phoenix saw Jalen Green as a primary playmaker before he arrived. Booker on rookie Khaman Maluach: "he's going to get that opportunity this year." Ott plans more full-court pressure after a top-10 finish: "We're gonna continue to double down."