The Phoenix Suns’ injury picture for tomorrow night’s matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder came into focus, and the biggest name on the list is Oso Ighodaro.
Ighodaro, dealing with a right oblique strain, is doubtful. Mark Williams remains out after left shoulder surgery, and Drew Timme is also sidelined because of his G League two-way status.
There is better news on a couple of other fronts. Collin Gillespie is not listed after he was seen grabbing at his hip in Saturday’s win over the Golden State Warriors.
Coach Jordan Ott said the medical staff didn’t bring anything to his attention after the game. Luke Kennard, meanwhile, is off the report as well after returning from a knee injury Saturday and scoring 11 points.
Phoenix’s availability issues have already forced Khaman Maluach into a larger role after he unexpectedly started in the season opener. With Williams and Ighodaro both unavailable, the Suns have been stretched even thinner in the frontcourt.
That shortage has shown up immediately on the glass. The Suns are already a small group, and through two games their rebounding problems have been impossible to ignore. They finished 29th in defensive rebounding last season, and the early returns have not been much prettier.
"I think it's been a priority all camp, all preseason," Ott said of the Suns' rebounding pregame Saturday. "We know we were bottom five last year, and we're going to need to do it with our bigger wings, with our guards, going to come back and have to help. It's going to be a collective effort all season long to defensive rebound.
"We know at times we're going to be a little smaller, but we got to make up for other ways. We got to turn teams over.
We got to take care of it ourselves, and then we got to crash the glass. That's the other three factors in that possession game.
We know what it is, we got to get better at it.”
The numbers are ugly so far. Phoenix is giving up the most offensive rebounds in the league at 17.5 per game, and the team knows exactly where the problem starts.
"The concerning part is obviously the rebounding portion - we just have to get hitched. I think we're playing decent defense, but if we can limit teams to one shot, that's going to be for our best," Suns star Devin Booker said after the win over Golden State.
"Once we secure the ball, we're dangerous. The part we got to clean up is getting that first rebound, and once you have a reputation where teams can get offensive rebounds on you, everyone's going to start crashing on us.
So I think we just need to nip it in the bud. Maybe take some defensive fouls, and just kind of set the tone early, that it's not going to be one of those second chance points games."
The Thunder have not yet released their injury report. They’re on the first night of a back-to-back tonight against the Los Angeles Clippers, which means that update will come later.
Tomorrow’s game tips shortly after 5 p.m. MST.
In Other News...
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For Suns fans, trade talk has a way of dragging up both the franchises brightest what-ifs and its biggest misfires. Phoenix has lived through enough roster swings over the years to know how one deal can change the trajectory of an era, and the Bradley Beal trade sits near the top of the regret list because of what the Suns gave up to get him.
Charles Barkley is the rare counterpoint in that history, the kind of move that can still make long-time fans smile. Arriving in 1992, he immediately changed the ceiling of the team and helped push Phoenix all the way to the NBA Finals the next year, a reminder that bold trades do not always end badly even if the modern memory tends to lean the other way. [Read more 🡒]
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Warriors Suddenly Face Another Problem Grizzlies Fans Will Notice
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For the Suns, the picture is much cleaner. Most of Phoenixs roster is expected to be available, with only a few players listed out or questionable, which could matter if the game turns into the kind of late-season grind where depth decides the night. For a Grizzlies team watching both sides of the West picture, the contrast in injury reports is hard to miss. [Read more 🡒]