Game Day: Suns (21-15) @ Grizzlies (16-20), Wed 1/7/25

[pickle]

Dunn shot sub 50% from the line in college and is up to 64% this year. He’s a second year player whose rookie season was mired in dysfunction who is now playing solid rotational minutes on a team that’s 6 games above 500. If his ceiling is Bruce Bowen minus the bicycle kicking stuff then that’s good enough for a 26th pick in the draft.

I decided to be a glass half full guy this year and I’m sticking to it.

[Split T]

He also wasn’t playing a ton of minutes last year…Bud took him out of the rotation completely for awhile…so I wouldn’t say his role decreased…he’s playing the same role he did last year. I think we just thought he’d snag that starting PF position and he didn’t. We basically gave that to Brooks.

[specialsauce]

He should earn his minutes. He doesn't deserve them. His defense is not good enough to outweigh the atrocious offense. Rasheer fits the role better. If Dunn develops he can get back playing time, but we are deep and we have young guys that are talented now and have higher ceilings than him

[AmareIsGod]

He should earn his minutes. He doesn't deserve them. His defense is not good enough to outweigh the atrocious offense. Rasheer fits the role better. If Dunn develops he can get back playing time, but we are deep and we have young guys that are talented now and have higher ceilings than him

His defense hasn't been great this season, from the eye test. I'd have to look at metrics. I never would have thought, after last season, that Oso would be the better of two, as far as improvement and impact on both ends of the floor. I've been impressed with Oso and disappointed with Dunn's regression.

[AmareIsGod]

Apparently Dunn has the 4th best +/- on the team this season.

Rank Player Pos GP Plus/Minus (+/-) Off Rtg Def Rtg
1 Collin Gillespie PG 37 +147 122.8 113.2
2 Devin Booker SG 34 +126 117.9 111.8
3 Oso Ighodaro PF 37 +104 115.0 102.2
4 Ryan Dunn SF 30 +75 110.0 105.2
5 Jordan Goodwin PG 34 +74 119.6 108.7
6 Isaiah Livers PF 19 +70 104.5 106.1
7 Mark Williams C 32 +50 140.2 112.6
8 Jalen Green SG 2 +37 108.0 114.0
9 Jamaree Bouyea PG 19 +21 136.7 113.9
10 Grayson Allen SG 20 +4 116.8 111.2
11 Koby Brea SG 2 -10 86.2 112.5
12 Royce O'Neale SF 37 -11 106.0 113.0
13 Khaman Maluach C 16 -12 90.4 99.3
14 Dillon Brooks SF 31 -14 109.9 107.9
15 Rasheer Fleming PF 21 -15 108.2 106.9
16 Nigel Hayes-Davis SF 22 -33 96.5 114.2
17 Nick Richards C 27 -41 114.3 119.4

[wpmiller42]

I have no metrics to back this up, but I like when Dunn is out there. I don't think he should be starting and playing every minute, but I think the energy is higher, his defense is much better than average, and keeps the ball moving. If he can get a consistent 3 point shot, he's a starter on a championship level team to me.

[Shabazz]

Dunn started the season off really well on both sides of the ball. He hasn’t been the same since he lost his starting role. His defensive energy has come and gone too. Still holding out hope for him because he could be so impactful if he can get a little tougher mentally and improve his ball-hadling.

[O_Gardino]

I think it's just the ups and downs of player development. Dunn looks less impactful at this point in the season, but I remember him being one of the few bright spots in those first 5-10 games. Now, Royce, JG, Livers, and Oso are all playing much better than they were. Maybe Dunn just doesn't look as good in comparison because the other guys have stepped it up.

I don't expect Dunn to be visibly better month by month like Booker was as a rookie. He is better than last year, and that's all I expect. I hope he will be better next year. He might have a career trajectory like Goodwin where it takes him a few years to be a real shooting threat and to learn how to use his energy productively.

And for Oso, I think he's playing now like he did in the preseason and summer league. It just took him a a bit to get comfortable being that aggressive against real NBA teams. Love to see it.

[Superbone]

[Superbone]

Royce’s pump fake is so nasty #petergriffin #familyguy

https://www.tiktok.com/@phoenixsuns/vid ... 1793752334

Corner three!

[specialsauce]

I think it's just the ups and downs of player development. Dunn looks less impactful at this point in the season, but I remember him being one of the few bright spots in those first 5-10 games. Now, Royce, JG, Livers, and Oso are all playing much better than they were. Maybe Dunn just doesn't look as good in comparison because the other guys have stepped it up.

I don't expect Dunn to be visibly better month by month like Booker was as a rookie. He is better than last year, and that's all I expect. I hope he will be better next year. He might have a career trajectory like Goodwin where it takes him a few years to be a real shooting threat and to learn how to use his energy productively.

And for Oso, I think he's playing now like he did in the preseason and summer league. It just took him a a bit to get comfortable being that aggressive against real NBA teams. Love to see it.

He is not better than last year I'm sorry.

[iLLmatic]

I think it's just the ups and downs of player development. Dunn looks less impactful at this point in the season, but I remember him being one of the few bright spots in those first 5-10 games. Now, Royce, JG, Livers, and Oso are all playing much better than they were. Maybe Dunn just doesn't look as good in comparison because the other guys have stepped it up.

I don't expect Dunn to be visibly better month by month like Booker was as a rookie. He is better than last year, and that's all I expect. I hope he will be better next year. He might have a career trajectory like Goodwin where it takes him a few years to be a real shooting threat and to learn how to use his energy productively.

And for Oso, I think he's playing now like he did in the preseason and summer league. It just took him a a bit to get comfortable being that aggressive against real NBA teams. Love to see it.

He is not better than last year I'm sorry.

Yeah his “improvement” isn’t passing the eye test.

[Mori Chu]

Oso had a really rough start to the season, but he has been better recently. His overall stats for the season are mostly up:

PPG: 4.2 -> 5.3 (.604/0/.580 -> .620/0/.488 splits)
REB: 3.6 -> 4.6
AST: 1.2 -> 1.8
STL: 0.5 -> 0.9
TOV: 0.6 -> 1.2

https://www.basketball-reference.com/pl ... dos01.html

I suspect if you took the stats for just the first month or so of the season, he would have been down across the board, so the fact that he is up across the board speaks volumes about how much better he has been lately. I don't think he has dramatically improved this year but I do notice improvement and am satisfied with how he is playing overall (the past month, not the start of the season). His FT% is still atrocious but otherwise he has really nice numbers, great shooting %, get you a few assists. Hustles and a good team player. Not bad for a cheap backup big man.

[ShelC]

He's one of those "impact goes beyond the boxscore" kind of players.

[specialsauce]

Oso had a really rough start to the season, but he has been better recently. His overall stats for the season are mostly up:

PPG: 4.2 -> 5.3 (.604/0/.580 -> .620/0/.488 splits)
REB: 3.6 -> 4.6
AST: 1.2 -> 1.8
STL: 0.5 -> 0.9
TOV: 0.6 -> 1.2

https://www.basketball-reference.com/pl ... dos01.html

I suspect if you took the stats for just the first month or so of the season, he would have been down across the board, so the fact that he is up across the board speaks volumes about how much better he has been lately. I don't think he has dramatically improved this year but I do notice improvement and am satisfied with how he is playing overall (the past month, not the start of the season). His FT% is still atrocious but otherwise he has really nice numbers, great shooting %, get you a few assists. Hustles and a good team player. Not bad for a cheap backup big man.

He's better even if stats don't show. I'd still happily upgrade his spot and get rid of him and don't see a future for him with Man Man and Williams here, but he's at least a contributor.

[O_Gardino]

I think it's just the ups and downs of player development. Dunn looks less impactful at this point in the season, but I remember him being one of the few bright spots in those first 5-10 games. Now, Royce, JG, Livers, and Oso are all playing much better than they were. Maybe Dunn just doesn't look as good in comparison because the other guys have stepped it up.

I don't expect Dunn to be visibly better month by month like Booker was as a rookie. He is better than last year, and that's all I expect. I hope he will be better next year. He might have a career trajectory like Goodwin where it takes him a few years to be a real shooting threat and to learn how to use his energy productively.

And for Oso, I think he's playing now like he did in the preseason and summer league. It just took him a a bit to get comfortable being that aggressive against real NBA teams. Love to see it.

He is not better than last year I'm sorry.

Yeah his “improvement” isn’t passing the eye test.

You guys are remembering Dunn's rookie season with rose colored glasses. His energy was great, but he was BAD on offense and often out of place on defense. This year, he is meh on offense and locked in on defense, which is a big improvement.

Dunn is in much better position on defense, leading to more rebounds and steals. 6.8 --> 8.0 RBS per 36 1.1 --> 1.7 STL per 36

On offense, Dunn is now playing his part in an offence based on movement and awareness. Last year he stood in the corner while KD and Book played 2v5. Dunn actually faces defenders this season.

His shooting form and confidence are much much better. .487 --> .692 FT% .430 --> .444 FG%

He is making much more nuanced plays. Last season he mostly took wide open 3s with an occasional cut to the basket. This year, he is good enough to keep defenders near him and is putting the ball on the floor more. When he gets to the basket, he's now able to draw defenders and dump the ball off. 6.7 --> 4.4 3PA per 36 1.5 --> 3.0 AST per 36

Y'all, Dunn's energy was one of the only bright spots in a dark season. Don't overlook his improvement just because we are playing to win this year. He was a 5 on a team that was a 4. Now, he's a 6 on a team that is a 7.

[specialsauce]

Sorry, disagree

[Bucktastic365]

Y'all, Dunn's energy was one of the only bright spots in a dark season. Don't overlook his improvement just because we are playing to win this year. He was a 5 on a team that was a 4. Now, he's a 6 on a team that is a 7.
[/quote]



I was ecstatic to see him take a floater in the last game. If he develops that, and slightly better handles, the 3 won't be an issue.
He's extremely fast into the lane; that needs to be his home

[Superbone]

Sorry, disagree

Big surprise!