The “Sometime Soon Suns.” It kind of feels like a nickname is forming in real time, because sometime soon this team will be whole. Or at least that is the hope we keep circling back to.
Before the game against the San Antonio Spurs, the first one out of the All-Star break, there was genuine optimism tied to the injury report. It was clean as no names were on it outside of Haywood Highsmith, who the Suns recently acquired but has yet to play this season due to a meniscus injury. And of course, the suspended Dillon Brooks. For a brief moment, it felt like maybe this was the reset point.
Then, hours before tipoff, Grayson Allen popped up as questionable and ultimately did not play. We already knew Dillon Brooks would be suspended after picking up his 16th technical foul against Oklahoma City before the break. And then, with Jalen Green starting alongside Devin Booker, Booker exited in the first quarter. He returned in the second. Then he left again. A hip contusion was the explanation.
So yeah. The team will be healthy. Sometime soon.
As for the game itself, it is hard to compete when that much payroll is sitting on the bench. Against a team like the Spurs, who are starting to hit a real stride and look increasingly comfortable in what they are trying to be, it was always going to be an uphill climb. Even at full strength, that would have been true. This version of the Suns, stretched thin and scrambling, never really had a chance to flip the script.
Nothing about the outcome was shocking or appalling. It was simply Phoenix getting outlasted and overmatched against one of the better teams in the league right now. From an analysis standpoint, there is not a ton to mine. I appreciated Mark Williams for continuing to go at Victor Wembanyama instead of shrinking from the moment. I liked how bouncy and athletic Jalen Green looked, maybe the best he has all season. I remain frustrated with the minutes Ryan Dunn is getting. I continue to see the limitations in what Oso can ultimately provide. And I find myself wondering where the aggressive version of Collin Gillespie disappeared to.
Time will reveal more as the season plays itself out, but most of it feels secondary until the roster stabilizes. None of this really matters unless the Suns get healthy.
And they will.
Sometime soon.
Bright Side Baller Season Standings
What’s one genuinely fun thing to come out of the game against Oklahoma City before the All-Star break? Rasheer Fleming landing the Bright Side Baller award. 8 points, 2-of-5 from beyond the arc, 3 rebounds, and a night where the box score almost felt secondary to the opportunity itself.
That game was a throwaway in the standings sense, but it mattered in a different way. We got an extended look at Rasheer Fleming and Khaman Maluach, and honestly, they didn’t look half bad. I don’t care that it came against Oklahoma City’s third unit. They moved well, they competed, and they looked like players who belonged on an NBA floor. Fleming especially looked comfortable letting it fly, finding space, and playing within the flow instead of shrinking from the moment.
So yeah, Rasheer Fleming is officially on the Bright Side Baller board now, and that makes me smile. In a week that was otherwise wacky and hard to evaluate, that was a clean little win worth holding onto.
Bright Side Baller Nominees
Game 56 against the Spurs. Here are your nominees:
Jalen Green
26 points (11-of-23, 4-of-9 3PT), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 3 turnovers, -20 +/-
Mark Williams
11 points (4-of-12), 10 rebounds, 1 block, 1 personal foul, -19 +/-
Oso Ighodaro
10 points (5-of-8), 1 rebound, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, -7 +/-
Jordan Goodwin
10 points (4-of-12, 2-of-7 3PT), 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 personal foul, -27 +/-
Royce O’Neale
8 points (3-of-8, 2-of-5 3PT), 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, -18 +/-
Collin Gillespie
8 points (3-of-13, 2-of-8 3PT), 2 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, -11 +/-
First Bright Side Baller on this side of the All-Star Break. Who gets it?