Suns expected to start Isaiah Canaan at point guard vs. Bulls

After coming off the bench for the first time this season against Philadelphia, the Phoenix Suns are expected to reintroduce sixth year point guard Isaiah Canaan to the starting lineup against Chicago on Wednesday, per 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro.

I’m expecting the Suns to go back to Isiaah Canaan as the starting point guard tonight

— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) November 21, 2018

Canaan played just 20 minutes against Philadelphia and spent the night battling foul trouble. He finished the contest with one point on three shots along with three rebounds, a turnover and five fouls.

Franchise star Devin Booker started in place of Canaan at the point guard slot and finished the night with eight assists. Head coach Igor Kokoskov deployed his tallest starting five of the season with forward Trevor Ariza returning to the lineup and rookie Mikal Bridges sliding to the shooting guard.

Kokoskov opted to start Bridges for the third consecutive game after posting 14 points and 4 steals against Oklahoma City. He finished with 13 points and three steals on 5-for-7 shooting from the field.

Gambadoro also said Trevor Ariza would remain in the starting lineup against the Bulls, pushing Bridges to the bench.

Trevor Ariza will start for the Suns tonight.

— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) November 21, 2018

During his 14 games in the starting lineup, Canaan has put up an average of 9.3 points and 3.2 assists per game on 43.9 percent shooting from the field and 38.6 percent from behind the arc.

Canaan has been a reliable three-point shooter for Phoenix this year, connecting on 40.5 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes on 2.5 attempts per contest. He’s hit the fourth most three-pointers and has logged the fifth most minutes on the team.