Suns’ elite bench is heartbeat of team, biggest strength

PHOENIX — It was a chore last year to compliment the Phoenix Suns’ bench, because they were never on the bench.

Fifty missed games for Jalen Green, 31 for Grayson Allen, 26 for Dillon Brooks, 22 for Mark Williams and 18 for Devin Booker forced the Suns’ reserves to take on much larger roles than Phoenix could have ever imagined for them coming into the season.

Time after time, they delivered.

“I think our bench really held us together in tough times, and now, praying that we have a healthy year and keeping guys out of the injury report that our bench will show a lot more throughout the whole year how great they really play and how great they really are,” Brooks said Tuesday.

Collin Gillespie started 58 games and was a revelation, becoming one of the best high-volume shooters in the NBA while using quickness and craft to still be a threat attacking defenses at his size, all while playing underrated defense.

Oso Ighodaro got the nod for 24, quickly establishing himself as an elite backup big thanks to tremendous feel for screening and playmaking offensively, along with enough agility and explosiveness to be a difference-maker every night on defense.

Jordan Goodwin opened 10 regular season games but was head coach Jordan Ott’s best answer as the elusive fifth starter when the playoffs got going, thanks to his All-Defensive-caliber irritation that sparked a few dozen Phoenix wins and reliable enough 3-point shooting (37.1%).

All three play their absolute tails off and vitally are super intelligent ballplayers with that engine. Toss out all the basketball cliches and they’re doing it. Diving for loose balls, getting a good read a beat early on an offensive rebound, making the extra pass and so on.

For the new identity the Suns created through Ott and general manager Brian Gregory, those three embodied it the most consistently.

“It’s something that we pride ourselves on, is that when the starters go out, maintaining that level of play and then taking it up another notch (while changing) the pace of the game,” Gillespie said Monday.

Last year, Phoenix was lucky to have one of those sparkplugs. This year, they could have all three at once. Even if Ighodaro starts, Ott is going to play him a ton with those guys (for good reason).

It will be in the running for the best reserve unit in the league, almost solely based off that trio. But add on the high-level shooting of Luke Kennard, plus the energetic athleticism provided by Rasheer Fleming, Ryan Dunn and Koa Peat, and you’ve really got something cooking now.

“Our depth from 12 months ago to now has significantly gotten better,” Ott said Tuesday. “Some of that was due to the injuries, so we were able to find some depth through some of those injuries last year.”

It does not take a trained or informed eye to tell you the Suns played at their best when one of these three players was on the floor, oftentimes when it was a pair or all three at the same time.

But if you want numbers too, I’ve got numbers.

Of the top-10 trios in total minutes spent together on the floor last year for the Suns, Phoenix outscoring teams by 9.2 points per 100 possessions with those three was easily the highest net rating, per NBA Stats. Scroll a bit further to find other great numbers and you’ll always see at least one of those three attached. It’s an 8.0 for Gillespie, Booker and Brooks. It’s a 10.3 for Gillespie, Ighodaro and Dunn. It’s a 9.7 for Gillespie, Booker and Williams.

And perhaps the most crucial number should be how Booker played with them.

The top dog logged at least 491 minutes with nine different players last year. Outside of an 8.1 net rating with Dunn in 571 minutes, which were largely with some combo of the trio, the highest marks were a 7.0 with Gillespie, 5.5 with Ighodaro and 4.5 with Goodwin.

It’s a swirl of information to inject into your noggin, because you clock back and remember Booker spent a good amount of time starting and closing games with those guys. So, this year it’ll be on Ott to figure out how to get a good percentage of Booker’s minutes with the teammates he clicked the best with.

All three are thought of as veterans, but they’re really not. Gillespie is entering Year 4, while it’s Year 6 for Goodwin. Both are just 27 years old, and the youngest, Ighodaro, comes into his third season at 24.

They are thought of in that way because of how they lead. All three, particularly Ighodaro, will constantly be talking shop in the middle of a game. Goodwin is that essential piece of the locker room as a vibes guy, and that effect is quintupled because he’s the standard for how hard everyone is supposed to play.

When it comes to who last year’s brief playoff experience was the most valuable for, those three who were making their debuts come to mind.

Ighodaro is a bright dude, and he thought he came into the series with a comprehensive understanding of what Oklahoma City was running through his studying that Mikal Bridges had previously said can come in this large binder NFL-style. But while Ighodaro was at that level, the Thunder were three above him. He was taken aback by how with every play Phoenix ran, OKC’s defense was calling out exactly what was coming before it even got in motion.

This is a common reality check for young players on what the postseason truly is at the highest level of the sport. The sooner the better for that, and it’s another notch on the belt for helping them lead.

That’s going to make Fleming, Peat and Dunn better, faster.

“Definitely excited for the second unit, especially when you got the young guys that have been looking really good all summer putting the work in,” Goodwin said. “Really think Rasher is looking really good, Ryan is having a great summer.”

This inherently also creates a challenge to the other four starters alongside Booker to create cohesion quickly. Because if they don’t, Ott won’t even have to workshop the solution. He already knows what it is.

That’s a hell of an assurance to have as a head coach, and what we call a good problem to have.

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