Suns two-way guard Collin Gillespie drew the first start of his career on Monday in place of injured Bradley Beal, Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin observes. He’s started three games including that one, with Phoenix winning three times in a row for the first time since late January. Gillespie’s in his third year in the league, all of which have been on a two-way contract. He missed his rookie season due to injury and joined Phoenix this offseason.
“*It was really cool,” Gillespie said of earning a starting opportunity. “Really surreal moment for myself after just battling that stuff, all the injuries and stuff. It was cool, it was fun. Most importantly, we got a win.*”
There’s no concern about Gillespie reaching his games played limit on a two-way deal, since he has 28 games of eligibility left, more than double the amount of games left in the season. However, as part of his contract, he won’t be eligible for the playoffs unless promoted to the active roster.
If the Suns wanted to convert him to a standard deal, they would need to waive a player as they’re at the limit of 15. His energy has helped Phoenix get back into the play-in picture at 10th in the West and 34-37. They’re 2.0 games behind the Kings. The Mavericks are also 34-37 but are 11th due to tiebreaking procedures.
Gillespie scored 13 points on a trio of made three-pointers on Friday in a victory against the Cavaliers.
“*If I’m out on the floor, I’m going to play hard,” Gillespie said. “I’m going to exhaust myself and then if I need a breather, they’ll probably get me out of the game, but when I’m out there, I’m going to play hard and I’m going to exhaust myself.*“
We have more from the Suns:
Suns rookie Oso Ighodaro earned his third career start on Friday, playing a career-high 44 minutes. He finished the upset win over the Cavaliers with six points, 13 rebounds and four assists. “*He’s shown a unique ability where he doesn’t seem to get winded or tired,” coach Mike Budenholzer said, per Rankin (Twitter link). “He plays at such a great pace. Mentally, he’s very calm. He understands and sees the game. So there’s not a lot of wasted energy mentally. We scheduled to give him a few more breaks, but he was just playing so good, we just kind of stuck with him.*” The rookie No. 40 overall pick is playing much more as of late, averaging 7.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 28.8 minutes over his past six games. Ighodaro earned the start over an injured Nick Richards.
The Suns picked up one of their biggest wins of the season on Friday, defeating a healthy but slumping Cavaliers team. As Rankin writes, Phoenix was down four rotational players but their new-look starting lineup is providing an identity and good vibes. Alongside Kevin Durant (who scored 42 points on Friday) and Devin Booker, the Suns are starting Gillespie, Ighodaro and rookie No. 28 overall pick Ryan Dunn. But when Beal, Richards, Grayson Allen and Mason Plumlee return to the lineup, it will force decisions from Budenholzer, per Rankin.
In a similar piece, The Athletic’s Doug Haller points out that Cody Martin is helping bring a defensive intensity off the bench for Phoenix. “I keep saying, just being connected,” Booker said of what’s fueling the team. “You’re moving as one. We’re covering (for) each other on defensive breakdowns and everybody’s making the extra effort to rotate for each other, and at the same time, making sure we secure the ball and rebound.”
Allen’s missed game on Friday was his sixth in a row, Rankin adds (via Twitter). “*I think this has been a little bit more than what we anticipated, but I think he’s in a really good place,” Budenholzer said. “I think he’s making really good progress. We feel really good about it.*” Allen suffered a foot sprain but was able to get some work in after shootaround on Friday. Budenholzer said the Suns feel “upbeat and optimistic” regarding his chances to play either Monday against the Bucks or Wednesday vs. the Celtics.