The Fantable is taking the week off so I’m doing the article solo this time!
It’s been a while since the Suns have had any rookies on the team, especially any that we had high expectations of but this year is different. It’s just preseason but rookies Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro especially are getting lots of court time and looking pretty damn good out there. We’re only two games into a five-game preseason schedule so I’m trying not to read too much into their performances so far but it’s not easy at times! As we also have two more young but not rookie two-way players (Gillespie and Washington) on the roster, I decided to add them to the report as well.
First off, let’s take a look at the raw statistics.
The Stats
Ryan Dunn – 20.1 mpg, 9.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.0 spg, 0.0 bpg, 0.5 TO, 1.5 PF, 46.2% FG% (6-13), 45.5% 3P% (5-11), 50.0% FT% (2-4)
Oso Ighodaro – 23.9 mpg, 9.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.5 apg, 0.5 spg, 1.5 bpg, 3.0 TO, 1.5 PF, 69.2% FG% (9-13), 0.0 3P% (0-0), 0.0% FT% (0-0)
Jalen Bridges – 3.7 mpg, 0.0 ppg, 0.5 rpg, 0.0 apg, 0.0 spg, 0.5 bpg, 0.5 TO, 1.0 PF, 0.0% FG% (0-5), 0.0% 3P% (0-4), 0.0% FT% (0-0)
Collin Gillespie – 11.9 mpg, 10.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.5 apg, 0.0 spg, 0.0 bpg, 2.0 TO, 1.0 PF, 60.0% FG% (6-10), 75.0% 3P% (3-4), 85.7% FT% (6-7)
TyTy Washington Jr – 12.6 mpg, 1.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.0 apg, 0.0 spg, 1.0 bpg, 1.0 TO, 0.0 PF, 0.0% FG% (0-2), 0.0% 3P% (0-1), 50.0% FT% (1-2)
Statistics courtesy of RealGM.com
Here’s something that I didn’t expect, even during the preseason: Oso Ighodaro is leading the entire team in minutes per game… and Ryan Dunn is third in MPG. I’m sure Nurk being sidelined with an injury has helped get Oso more minutes but the surprise is how well he’s handled being the backup center. He’s leading the team in rebounds, is 2nd in assists and just looks more polished and composed on the court than I expected. If/when he bulks up a bit and develops an outside shot, he could turn into a great player but even without those things, he might give Plumlee some real competition for backup center minutes once Nurk returns.
Despite pre-preseason worries about Dunn’s shooting, his 45.5% from THREE is the 2nd best percentage on the team for any player averaging at least three 3-point attempts per game. His defense seems as good as advertised and I don’t doubt that he will soon be a regular part of the Suns’ bench rotation… if his shooting holds up.
Both Dunn and Ighodaro have played better than I expected. Neither of them have looked like future superstars out there but neither of them looked lost and both were solid contributors in two wins. Both are also looking like solid additions to the roster who will be ready to make positive contributions on the court at some point during the regular season and in the future.
Since Collin Gillespie didn’t play in Summer League, I was quite interested in seeing him and so far I haven’t been disappointed. At this point, I don’t claim to know what his ceiling is but I do believe that he was a very good pickup on a two-way and could develop into at least a solid NBA backup point guard. His 10.5 ppg average is 4th on the Suns, he’s shot well from downtown and is leading the team in getting to the FT line (3.5 FTA per game). And one thing that won’t show up in the stats is his BBIQ which I believe is above average.
With Both Tyus Jones and Monte Morris on one-year minimum contracts (and Tyus especially unlikely to be back next season) Collin could be a keeper and claim a spot on the Suns’ roster for 2025-26, maybe even as the primary backup PG.
Jalen Bridges has so far been a bit of a disappointment. I wasn’t expecting a lot from him but I wasn’t expecting poor shooting from a guy who seemed to be good 3&D wing prospect. Granted he hasn’t seen a lot of court time but he hasn’t done much with what time he’s had to encourage Bud to give him more either. Thankfully the Suns don’t need production from their 3rd rookie right away and he should get plenty of time in the G League to work on his game.
As for TyTy Washington, well having played just 12.6 minutes in one game makes it difficult to draw any sort of conclusions. I expect he will be joining Bridges in spending a lot of time for the Valley Suns though as I didn’t see much from him that caught my attention.
I’ll have a follow up to this article as soon as preseason ends and then supply weekly stats reports/updates on them all when the regular season gets underway.
Let us know what you think of our rooks and two-way players in the comments below!
Last Week’s poll results
Last week’s question was “Who would you prefer to get the Suns’ final open regular season roster spot?”
75% – Frank Kaminsky.
02% – Mamadi Diakite.
05% – Moses Wood.
18% – None of them. Keep that spot open for a while.
A total of 142 votes were cast.
Suns Trivia/History
On October 12, 1979, Don Buse made Phoenix Suns history with the franchise’s first-ever 3-pointer late in the first quarter of the 1979-80 season opener against Golden State. He made two in one minute and Paul Westphal hit two in the 3rd quarter, each finishing 2-2. Alvin Scott went 0-1 and Phoenix finished 4-5 on threes as the Suns beat Golden State 97-89 at home.
The Suns finished that season ranked 6th in the NBA in 3-point attempts with… 3.4 per game. Paul Westphal led the Suns in attempts with 1.1 per game (93 total in 82 games) with a 28.0% average from three.
Currently, the Suns have made at least one three-point field goal in 1,613 consecutive regular season games entering the 2024-25 season, which is the longest active streak in the NBA, and an NBA record for most consecutive games with a three-point field goal. The streak began on March 29, 2004 and is 13 games longer than the second place Golden State Warriors (1,600 straight games which is also still active).
The Suns player who hit the 1st 3-pointer in this current streak was Joe Johnson who made the shot with 1:24 to go in the 1st quarter of a 101-95 win over the visiting Washington Wizards.
FULL-CIRCLE MOMENT
Drew Neitzel was Devin Booker’s first-ever autograph.
Now, @DevinBook is Drew’s son’s first autograph!
All in Book’s home state of Michigan pic.twitter.com/PQM2UYImDL
— NBA (@NBA) October 9, 2024
Quotes of the Week
“Obviously, the more assists, the better. But for me, it starts with not turning the ball over and making sure we get quality possessions the majority of the time.” – Tyus Jones
“If Kevin Durant says shoot, let it go.” – Ryan Dunn
Important Future Dates
October 11 – Suns vs Pistons (7:00 pm AZT)
October 13 – Suns @ Nuggets on ESPN (5:30 pm AZT)
October 17 – Suns vs Lakers on TNT (7:00 pm AZT)
- All Suns preseason games will be broadcast locally on Arizona’s Family 3TV and Arizona’s Family Sports.
October 18 – Preseason ends.
October 19 – Last day for players on fully non-guaranteed contracts to be waived and not count at all against a team’s 2024/25 cap. They must clear waivers before the first day of the regular season.
October 21 – Last day of the 2024 offseason. Roster limits decrease from 21 players to 18 (2:00 pm AZT). Teams will be limited to carrying 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals as of this deadline. Last day for teams to sign a player to a rookie scale extension (3:00 pm AZT). Last day for teams to sign an extension-eligible veteran player with multiple seasons left on his contract to an extension. Last day for teams to convert an Exhibit 10 contract into a two-way contract.
October 22 – 2024/25 regular season begins.
This week’s poll is…