Inside the Suns – Topics: Ryan Dunn, short-term predictions, filling the Suns’ last roster spot

Your weekly Inside the Suns analysis straight from the BSotS community who live and breathe the team.

Welcome to Inside the Suns, your weekly deep down analysis of the current Phoenix Suns team.

Each week the Fantable – a round table of Bright Siders – give their takes on the Suns’ latest issues and news.

Fantable Questions of the Week

Q1 – It’s been reported that the Suns (along with several other teams) could be interested in obtaining former Sun PJ Tucker if he is eventually bought out by the Clippers. What are your thoughts on possibly bringing PJ back?

OldAz: I’m really not interested at this point. I like what the Suns have right now and need about 20 games to let everything settle. Then we can see what they need and watch for opportunities in the trade or even buyout market. Even Nurk, who struggled in a couple early games (note both were the Lakers who are a terrible matchup for him) needs those 20 games before we make any roster decisions.

Brrrberry: Having PJ in the building would be great for this roster and I’d be thrilled to have him back. He’s a physical defensive presence if he ever takes the court which I don’t think you can have enough of even though I don’t necessarily see him being a part of the rotation unless it’s as a small ball 5. He’d make us better on some level so I’m all for it. With Dunn’s emergence I think Allen may be more expendable than I had anticipated so I’m really expecting some type of trade at some point but having PJ fill that last roster spot would be ideal.

Rod: As much as I liked PJ back in his days with Phoenix, I’d probably pass on bringing him back even on a vet minimum. I’m not even sure if he’d want to come back to the Suns where he might not be able to get much playing time… which is why he wants a buyout from the Clips. Plus the guy is 39 years old, 3 years older than KD. And I think it’s just too early to fill that final roster spot.

Q2 – Some fans are calling for Ryan Dunn to start in Bradley Beal’s place. What are your thoughts on this?

OldAz: I still hold that this is short sighted. Ryan Dunn is everything I could’ve hoped for and if I had to bet, by the end of these first 20 games, I think he will be earning 25 to 30 minutes a game. Even then, however, I am not as concerned with who the starters are As it appears Coach Bud is finishing the 1st quarter with both on the floor. I feel like Beal needs to get his flow going early before taking a quick breather before leading that end of 1st squad so I would leave him in the starter spot.

Brrrberry: If he keeps playing how he has there’s absolute merit to it. All off season it was they needed to start Allen over Beal which was a terrible idea and never going to happen. Our optimal outcome for this team is Dunn is deserving of starting over Beal due to flat out making our starting lineup a more impactful overall unit.

I’ve heard the word ego thrown out related to Beal and I’d welcome anyone to give one example of Beal’s ego conveying itself in a negative light since he’s got here. He’s been a great teammate and arguably our most vocal leader. Being the first man off the bench doesn’t stop him from being that type of leader and he’s not done or said anything to indicate he won’t do his best at whatever gives this roster the best chance to compete for a ring. He’s smart enough to know his legacy looks a hell of a lot different with one than without.

Rod: I can understand the reasoning behind this but I don’t think Dunn is quite ready to start… yet. First off, even though he managed to get only one foul called against him in the 2nd Lakers game, so far he’s averaged 2.8 fouls per game in just 14.8 minute per game. Per 36 that works out to be 6.7 fouls per game. When he started against Dallas, he got 5 fouls in just over 21 minutes.

I don’t doubt that he’ll get better at not fouling as he gains NBA experience but for right now it’s best for Dunn to continue coming off the bench until he reaches that point. For the time being, I want to make sure he’s available to play – and play aggressively – at the end of games instead of being in foul trouble (or fouled out) when that time comes.

Q3 – In their first 20 games, the Suns have only 4 games against teams with sub-.500 records last season. What do you consider an “acceptable” win/loss record for this 20 game stretch?

OldAz: Interesting thing about the NBA is that .600 equates to about 50 wins And that would be a pretty good record in the current Western Conference. .600 Over 20 games is 12 wins and that seems very doable based on what we have seen so far, but also seems greedy to set as a baseline. Considering the level of competition, anything at or over .500 In the first 20 games should be considered ”acceptable”.

Brrrberry: 12-8 is reasonable and should almost be expected but I’m hoping for 15-5 at this point with what I’ve seen and where we sit currently. It’s the difference between a 61 and 49 win pace. This team with a new staff is just getting its feet wet and I’m THRILLED with Bud so far.

They are undoubtedly going to develop more chemistry and I can’t wait to see where we peak out at. Bud has exceeded my expectations entirely and I do believe he has his pulse on in game rotations mucch better than Monty and Vogel did. He’s got more to work with but playing 29 different lineups in one game is not something I’m used to seeing and it’s super refreshing.

At this point I’m going into every game thinking we’re going to win and as a fan I can’t ask for much more. I know for certain a couple of these wins we’ve had this year would’ve been losses last season.

Rod: 12-8 is the bare minimum that I’d grudgingly call “acceptable”. I wouldn’t be overly happy with it though as I truly believe the Suns can do better than that. So far the Suns’ offense hasn’t quite jelled yet though (their offensive rank is just 14th at the moment) but their defense (ranked 6th) seems to be coming along better/fast than I expected. Even if they don’t iron out those offensive bugs quickly, I feel 12-8 is still doable.

15-5 is my high end hope for their record in the first 20 games.

As always, many thanks to our Fantable members for all their extra effort this week!

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Rookie & Two-way Players Report

Ryan Dunn – 18.6 mpg, 9.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.4 spg, 0.4 bpg, 0.2 TO, 3.2 PF, 51.4% FG% (18-35), 44.0% 3P% (11-25), 0.0% FT% (0-0)

Oso Ighodaro – 7.5 mpg, 1.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.0 apg, 0.0 spg, 0.3 bpg, 0.5 TO, 1.5 PF, 66.7% FG% (2-3), 0.0 3P% (0-0), 0.0% FT% (0-0)

Collin Gillespie – 3.4 mpg, 3.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg, 0.0 apg, 0.0 spg, 0.0 bpg, 0.0 TO, 0.0 PF, 50.0% FG% (1-2), 100.0 3P% (1-1), 0.0% FT% (0-0)

Jalen Bridges – Assigned to Valley Suns

TyTy Washington Jr – Assigned to Valley Suns

Statistics courtesy of NBA.com.

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Last Week’s poll results

Last week’s question was “Overall, the Suns’ play in the OT win in their season opener was…”

46% – Encouraging.

46% – Fair to middling.

08% – Disappointing.

A total of 171 votes were cast.

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Suns Trivia/History

On November 2, 1990, the Suns defeated the Utah Jazz 119-96 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in Japan in the first regular season game played outside North America by any major professional sports league. Tom Chambers led the Suns with 38 points and 10 rebounds while Kevin Johnson scored 29 with 10 assists. 1-time All-Star Cedric Ceballos made his NBA debut in this game scoring 2 points and grabbing 1 rebound in just 2 minutes of court time.

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Quotes of the Week

“Shoutout to our rookie Ryan Dunn. He takes every challenge… He hasn’t backed down to anybody.” – Devin Booker

“I think we still can be better on that end (defense). We’re still figuring things out and talking through huddles and the coaches are open to anything and what’s effective.” – Devin Booker

“I feel like we got a deep team, guys that’s been around before. Understand what it takes. We’ve got a veteran coaching staff who understands adjustments and schemes, how to utilize the bench, the whole team.” – Kevin Durant

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Important Future Dates

Nov. 12 – Emirates NBA Cup begins

Dec. 3 – Emirates NBA Cup Group Stage concludes

Dec. 10-11 – Emirates NBA Cup Quarterfinals

Dec. 14 – Emirates NBA Cup Semifinals (Las Vegas, NV)

Dec. 17 – Emirates NBA Cup Championship (Las Vegas, NV)

Jan. 5 – 10-day contracts may now be signed

Jan. 10 – All NBA contracts are guaranteed for the remainder of the season

Feb. 6 – NBA Trade Deadline (3 p.m. ET)

Feb. 14-19 – NBA All-Star break

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This week’s poll is…