Oso Ighodaro, David Roddy flash for summer Suns in loss to Pacers

Phoenix Suns second-round pick Oso Ighodaro flashed some of what he is capable of as an NBA-ready player in a 98-94 loss for the summer Suns against the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.

Ighodaro finished with 12 points, four assists and four steals.

This game was a better vehicle to showcase Ighodaro’s signature abilities that primarily revolve around the perimeter.

He will make this backdoor pass a handful of times this season. The dribble drive in semi-transition I’m not so sure of but it’s a nice take!

Then he followed it up with this drive. pic.twitter.com/6Cd9H8xsl0

— Mike Vigil (@protectedpick) July 16, 2024

Ighodaro also got up on a lob finish, a dynamic he will add to the center rotation that is sorely needed.

Oso with authority! 💪 pic.twitter.com/OHV4lgIK38

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) July 16, 2024

David Roddy got some shots to fall and really found some rhythm in the second half after he had a rough go in the opener on Saturday. Roddy was a first-round pick in 2022, so at this point, he needs to look like one of the best players on the floor and he was that on Tuesday with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Phoenix has until Halloween to accept or decline the fourth-year option on Roddy’s standard contract that is for the 2025-26 season. Memphis had already accepted the option for this upcoming season prior to the time he was acquired by the Suns in February.

First-round pick Ryan Dunn was not a factor offensively, shooting 2-for-9 (0-for-4 from 3) for four points with two rebounds, two assists and a block. While it is expected for that to be the case early in his career, it would be encouraging to see him score a bit against this level of competition. The few times he found himself on the ball attempting to get to the basket, his drives weren’t able to get anywhere. When he did get in positions to score, he did not show prowess in touch shot areas, whether in the short midrange or from 3.

Dunn’s defense was very good throughout the game but he didn’t have any full sequences that really jumped out. Two-way wing Jalen Bridges, for example, had a four-play stretch in the fourth quarter when he drilled a 3, stopped a shot at the rim, drove for a dump-off assist and forced a jump ball. Seeing some more of that from Dunn, like in the first game, would be a boost.

Summer league is a suboptimal environment for evaluating talent but these two Suns games have been especially brutal for flow. Most possessions have been ending in either a foul or a turnover. At the end of the first half, there were a combined 24 turnovers and 25 free throws. The turnover number ended at 40.

Quinndary Weatherspoon was Phoenix’s leading scorer with 17 points in 11 minutes.

Weatherspoon is 27 years old, one of the players on the team that follows a previous Suns strategy of looking into older prospects at summer league. He was selected 49th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs before spending three years in the G League. From there, Weatherspoon played one year in China before returning back to the G League last year and then going back to China.

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