PHOENIX — A largely lifeless Phoenix Suns season found some energy on Monday during a 129-89 win over the Toronto Raptors.
Two-way guard Collin Gillespie got his first-career start, taking the place of Bradley Beal (left hamstring strain) in the latest move by head coach Mike Budenholzer the last two games that is rewarding effort over any other established reasons as to why someone would be getting playing time.
Toronto was down Brandon Ingram (left ankle sprain), R.J. Barrett (rest), Jakob Poeltl (rest), Gradey Dick (right knee bruise) and Ja’Kobe Walter (right hip flexor), so that’s really all it would take to get the job done.
The Suns did, and it was thanks primarily to the spark-plugs.
Rookie Oso Ighodaro had nine points, 10 rebounds, four assists, a steal, a block and was +39 in 26 minutes. Trade deadline acquisition Cody Martin did not have as alluring of a box score with two points, four rebounds, six assists and three steals but brought some actual grit to a team that at times doesn’t have even a pinch of it.
“Those don’t show up (in the box score) but we understand the importance of it and he’s made a career out of that,” Suns guard Devin Booker said of Martin.
The “Suns basketball” we have come to know this year was all over the first quarter, one the Raptors won by five. But a unit led by Martin and Ighodaro brought some much-needed energy to the evening on both ends of the floor, fueling a 20-2 start to the second quarter that ended 39-11 Suns for those dozen minutes.
While acknowledging it was against a depleted Raptors second unit, the Suns played some of their best defense in a first half this season.
“Just defense, guarding, being connected on that end and that opening up, putting out opportunities for us to play fast and play random,” Booker said of the second quarter.
That included Martin taking a charge and diving for a loose ball that got the Suns a free runout.
“He does a little bit everything, but most importantly, he’s been vocal even in the times that he hasn’t been in the game. … It translates,” Booker said of Martin.
On the other end of the floor, playing off misses and Ighodaro’s combination of playmaking and speed as a screen-setter unlocked the type of pace Booker wants to use at all times. In the world of evaluating quarterbacks, they call it “processing speed,” and Ighodaro almost instantly knows where he is going with the ball when Booker is trapped. Mason Plumlee has made a whole lot of money off that type of skill and Ighodaro might just be as good as him at it, if not better.
“Very quickly,” Booker said of how fast Ighodaro does that. “It’s process of elimination. … If we have proper spacing on the backside it should lead to an open 3 or [another opportunity].”
Credit to veterans like Tyus Jones and Royce O’Neale for chipping in on the defense over that surge, as well as Booker. They all seem to respond when someone else gets it started, hence the need for the effort guys to keep getting run.
Budenholzer let those guys ride, to the extent that Kevin Durant sat for the opening 9:39 of the second quarter. That is far and away Durant’s longest rest as a Sun. He checked in with Phoenix up 17 and the halftime lead was 23.
The third quarter was not flawless, but the Suns didn’t compound mistakes on top of each other when they happened. And a quick burst in the last two minutes was enough to extend the lead to 29.
In another refreshing change, the Suns kept it growing to 35 a little over two minutes into the final frame and maintained this thing at a blowout with no late streak from the opposition to inspire any anxiety for Suns fans.
As we’ve seen recently, the winning recipe for Phoenix does not require its stars carrying a major load. In five of the Suns’ last six victories, the high scorer has ended up with below 30 points. Booker finished with 27 points (8-for-15), four rebounds, six assists and one turnover in 32 minutes while Durant was 5-of-7 for 14 points to go with three rebounds, three assists, a steal and four turnovers in 26 minutes.
To be fair, a big part of that has to do with shooting 20-for-39 (51.3%) from 3 as a team. O’Neale (3-for-6) and Jones (4-for-7) both chipped in there yet again. In the Suns’ last 11 games, O’Neale is at 27-for-58 (46.7%) from deep while Jones is 32-for-55 (58.2%).
Phoenix kept this thing in a nice spot for three quarters by turning it over only 10 times and winning points off turnovers 20-9. Second-chance points were 10-9 Suns.
What does the win say about the Suns long-term?
For what the Suns must carve into their new foundation for next season, letting go of Martin this summer to get off his $8.7 million in nonguaranteed money would be malpractice.
The mission statement for the retool and reload has to be putting Booker around a bunch of athletes who give a [expletive]. Martin checks both boxes. One of the real drags of watching this Suns team has been a, “Oh yeah, you can do that!” type of energy play from a Phoenix player. Martin’s contesting rebounds, getting into the hip of ball-handlers and playing complete defensive possessions. Keep him.
Ighodaro and Ryan Dunn both haven’t played enough this year to, in this one blog boy’s opinion, definitively pencil them in as NBA rotation players with a long and fruitful career ahead of them. That has to change, and Dunn’s 33 minutes on Friday and Ighodaro’s 26 on Monday were a good start. Getting meaningful minutes against contenders to close out the regular season would be significant development time.
Grayson Allen’s (left foot strain) absence, along with Beal, has made it easier to find room for Dunn and Martin in the rotation. We’ll see how it looks if the Suns get back to a fully healthy state.
Again, confirmation bias is a real thing. A bad Toronto team missing four starters is not a matchup to start, “I was right!” parades in regards to who should be playing in the rotation. But at the very least, if we can be a lil’ bold and treat the Suns like a normal squad for a few moments, using this win and a meeting with Chicago on Wednesday as opponents to establish the habits that matter would be immensely helpful before the gauntlet portion of the schedule kicks off.
And even if it isn’t going well, these guys should still play. The confidence it gives them is clear.
“I think that’s a big thing and incredibly grateful for coach Bud allowing us to do that — I think that’s kind of what we need, the energy plays,” Dunn said.