The Phoenix Suns have made their call for opening night, and Khaman Maluach will be the one walking out with the starting center job when they face the Portland Trail Blazers.
That decision comes after a camp-and-preseason battle with Ighodaro, with the Suns sorting through the fallout from Mark Williams’ torn labrum in his left shoulder during the offseason. Phoenix held off until the final moment before locking in the move, but coach Jordan Ott has already made it clear he does not want to keep juggling his starting group from night to night. That makes Maluach’s nod tonight look like more than a one-game choice.
"We need 48 minutes of great center play. This kind of lines up to get the 48 minutes," Ott said pregame (via The Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin). "We're going to have to mix and match a little bit with their lineups, but we got a plan going in that we got two really good centers that are developing and want this.
"They want this competition. This is going to be a great crowd, opening night, and we have two young guys that are going to go out there and play hard and play our style."
Maluach, now in his second season, did not see much action last year, but the Suns have spoken highly of the offseason he put together. This is his chance to show why he got the edge over Ighodaro, who brings more experience and recently signed a three-year, $29 million extension.
Phoenix’s starting group around him is exactly what many expected: Green, Booker, Brooks and Bridges.
That quartet showed promising chemistry during the preseason, and the Suns are banking on that carryover being real once the games count.
There will be a little less depth available for Ott to work with as well. Luke Kennard is out with a knee injury, which means Phoenix is set to use a nine-man rotation instead of 10 unless the coach decides he has to go deeper into the bench.
The Suns are also trying to start the season the same way they have lately, having won their last four openers. And there’s a little extra edge built into the night, too, with Portland having knocked them out in last season’s No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in game.
The Blazers arrive with plenty of changes. Micah Nori is their new coach, Damian Lillard is back from an Achilles injury, and he’ll start in the backcourt next to trade pickup Ja Morant.
Ott was clear about what jumps out when he looks at that group.
"The speed in the open court will stand out. You can tell they're trying to play fast," Ott said of his impressions of Portland's new backcourt.
"And then Dame's ability to get hot at any moment. We've all seen it, especially in this building.
Lot of energy that he brings when he gets going, so it's his shooting piece and then just their overall speed in the halfcourt.
"And then defensively, they have some really good aggressive defenders, and they make it challenging when their 5 is all the way back protecting the rim and (Toumani) Camara is on the basketball, hounding the ball. Really good team, I'm sure they'll want to build on it from last year."
Beyond Lillard and Morant, one of the bigger swing factors for Phoenix could be Deni Avdija, who has given the Suns problems before with his downhill game. He’s active after being listed as questionable, and that gives the Suns an immediate test for Bridges, whose size could be important in trying to help clean up some of the issues Phoenix ran into last season.
Tipoff is set for shortly after 7 p.m. MST.
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