PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns opened preseason with plenty to like and a few messy reminders that this roster is still figuring itself out, dropping a 109-107 decision to the Detroit Pistons on Monday night.
For one half, Phoenix looked sharp and organized. The starters and the top bench group helped the Suns race to a 68-50 lead at halftime before the game tilted once the team went deep into the rotation after the break. The third- and fourth-stringers couldn’t hold the edge, and Detroit’s reserves chipped away until the Pistons finished the comeback.
Even in a loss, there was a lot to pull from the Suns’ first game since April 27. The biggest early spark came from Miles Bridges, who wasted no time making his presence felt in his Suns debut.
He scored Phoenix’s first seven points, attacked the glass, picked off a steal and added an offensive rebound during the opening burst. Bridges finished with eight points, five rebounds and four assists, and he looked comfortable alongside the starters right away.
"We'll continue to highlight his strengths. His first basket was on the (offensive) glass.
We're asking him to do that," Suns coach Jordan Ott said of Bridges postgame (via The Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin). "Defensively, he's going to guard them all.
He's going to guard everyone out there. He's really good in transition, as we transition to offense, his ability to get it and go, really allows us to play in a ton of space without even having to get to the next advantage."
The whole starting group followed that tone. Phoenix defended with pressure, moved the ball quickly and played with the pace the staff wants.
Devin Booker led the way with 13 points and showed no hesitation in firing away after saying he wanted to shoot more this season. Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks each added 11 points as they settled into roles in an offense loaded with scoring options.
The frontcourt battle also got its first preseason look. Oso Ighodaro started at center, while Khaman Maluach came off the bench with Mark Williams sidelined after suffering a torn labrum this offseason.
Neither player seized the job in the opener, but both had moments worth noting. Maluach scored six points and grabbed two rebounds in 17 minutes and looked more comfortable around the rim than he did last year.
Ighodaro posted three points, five rebounds and two assists in 14 minutes and flashed his passing touch.
"Just trying to keep getting better. Me and Man-Man (Maluach) have been pushing each other all summer.
Both have gotten a lot better. Whoever starts, whoever doesn't, we'll come in and impact the game," Ighodaro said postgame (via Rankin).
Phoenix has reason to value Ighodaro’s track record, too. He played in all 82 games last season and made 24 starts, which could give him the early edge.
"Oso was really good last year. Top-10 defensive center.
He was great last year. Love where he's headed," Ott said.
"We love where Man-Man is going. In these type of situations, we get to see both.
That first 10 players that played were really good and both of them were part of that."
The bench group backed up the strong start with productive minutes of its own. Jordan Goodwin had seven points, six rebounds, three of them offensive, and three steals.
Collin Gillespie went 3-for-3 for eight points, and Luke Kennard scored nine. That unit kept the defensive pressure up, kept crashing the offensive boards and kept letting it fly with confidence.
There was one notable lineup wrinkle, though: Phoenix chose to use Ryan Dunn ahead of Rasheer Fleming as the backup power forward. Fleming still wound up playing the most minutes on the team with 18, even though he didn’t see the floor in the first half.
The second half told a different story. Detroit’s deeper group looked more connected, while Phoenix coughed the ball up far too often. The Suns finished with 22 second-half turnovers, and that was enough to erase the cushion they had built earlier.
It wasn’t the kind of finish Phoenix wanted, but Ott pointed to the split clearly.
"Two things can be true. The first half, that was the defensive intensity we want to bring every night," Ott said (via Rankin).
"I thought Dillon (Brooks) was fantastic on the ball. Jalen (Green) was great defensively.
Just our overall intent defensively was at a high level in the first half, and in the second half, that can also be true. Their defensive intensity, how they played very similar to how we want to play.
They forced us into turnovers."
Phoenix returns to preseason action Wednesday night at 5 p.m. MST against the Chicago Bulls.
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