The Phoenix Suns may be getting a key piece back at just the right time.
Jordan Goodwin has been upgraded to questionable for Monday night’s matchup with the San Antonio Spurs after missing the last three games with a right calf injury. Phoenix also listed Mark Williams as out because of left shoulder surgery on the team’s official injury report.
Before Sunday’s 102-99 win over the Houston Rockets, Suns coach Jordan Ott gave a positive update on Goodwin’s progress.
"Goodie’s good. Continues to progress. Seems to be more and more on the court ... taking everything day by day,"
Even without Goodwin, the Suns have found a little more traction. Ryan Dunn has picked up extra minutes in his absence and made the most of them, finishing as the team’s best plus-25 against Houston.
Phoenix would still welcome Goodwin back in a hurry. His energy on both ends has been a noticeable part of what the Suns have been trying to build, and his return would give them another needed body as they try to keep their recent run going.
The Suns are 3-5 and have won back-to-back games for the first time this season. More importantly, the defense has started to show signs of life after a rough opening stretch. Houston was held to a season-low 99 points, and Ott pointed to that game and Thursday’s matchup with Orlando as evidence that the group is moving in the right direction.
"It’s something we can build on. We found some stuff in that Orlando game (on Thursday),"
"Starts again, guarding the basketball. We’ve talked a lot about. How do you stay out of rotations.
"If you can stay out of rotations, you can rebound better, but if we do have to go into rotation, just be better in our closeouts and our communication and then taking the challenge."
The Spurs arrive with a very different kind of momentum. San Antonio is 8-2 and riding an eight-game winning streak, with Devin Vassell listed as questionable because of left adductor tightness. The Spurs will also remain without Tobias Harris, who has a left calf strain, and Jayden Quaintance, who is recovering from right knee surgery.
For Phoenix, the assignment is obvious: slow down Victor Wembanyama. That has been a problem area for the Suns all season, especially against centers. Still, they handled Alperen Sengun well on Saturday, limiting him to 5-of-16 shooting, and they’ll try to carry that defensive edge into Monday night.
"We keep chipping away,"
"It’s obviously not where we want to be defensively to start the season. The last two nights we took some steps, but it’s going to be an ever-evolving process. We have to shift.
"We understand that we’re a little undersized. We have to shift and then get to the ball and then rebound. In stretches, I thought that was some of our best defense of the year."
Monday’s game is set to tip shortly after 7 p.m. MST.
In Other News...
Spurs Exposed Two Blazers Problems Fans Cant Ignore
Portlands 125-103 loss to San Antonio at home was the kind of game that left little room for optimism, especially after the Blazers were outplayed in the second and third quarters. The Spurs controlled the middle stretches and made Portland chase the game, while second-year center Yang Hansen gave the home side one of its few bright spots with the first double-double of his career, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The bigger concern was how little resistance Portland offered on the offensive end. Scoot Henderson continued to struggle, and the Blazers never found much rhythm from deep, hitting just 9 of 35 from three-point range while San Antonio connected on 17 of 44. For a team trying to stabilize its early-season identity, the combination of shaky perimeter shooting and uneven guard play was hard to miss. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama Showed Exactly How Dangerous These Spurs Can Be
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For the Trail Blazers, there was at least a bright spot in Yang Hansen, who posted his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds while filling in for Robert Williams III. But Portland never found a way to slow Wembanyama or keep pace with San Antonios offense, which is the kind of reminder that makes this Spurs group so intriguing when their best player is rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Fans May See The Giannis Miss Very Differently Now
Doc Rivers has never been shy about saying what he thinks, and his latest podcast appearance offered more of the same when he took aim at Giannis Antetokounmpos playing style and basketball IQ. For Spurs fans, though, the bigger takeaway may be less about Rivers familiar bluntness and more about how the conversation around Giannis has shifted. Once upon a time, the idea of pairing him with Victor Wembanyama would have sounded like a dream scenario in San Antonio, the kind of talent mashup that could change a franchises ceiling overnight.
But the fit was never as simple as the name value suggested. Giannis has long been a force because of his size, speed and relentless pressure at the rim, yet his injury history and postseason track record have also fueled debate about how his game translates when the stakes climb. That is why Rivers critique lands in a more complicated place than a typical hot take, and why the Spurs old what-if may look different now. Not every great player is built to mesh cleanly with another great player, even one as singular as Wembanyama. [Read more 🡒]