Despite being the Suns’ first and third leaders in starts this season, fans do mind seeing Royce O’Neale (67 starts) and Collin Gillespie (58 starts) coming off the bench as postseason play gets closer. Both were put in the second unit for last Sunday’s game against the Bulls, and Gillespie only started yesterday’s game against the Lakers because the team had multiple guards out, including Devin Booker, Jalen Green, and Jordan Goodwin.
In a recent poll, 62% of the community believed moving Gillespie to the bench unit was the right move.
O’Neale coming off the bench had much more traction, as on 33% believe he should be part of the Suns’ starting five.
I’m not surprised that fans want both to come off the bench despite them both starting the majority of the season. Phoenix has struggled in its last 16 games, going 5-11, with Gillespie especially playing some of his least inefficient basketball of the season. He’s shooting 25% in his past five games, shooting 32% from the field, and as a result, is playing less.
In the past few weeks, both Mark Williams and Dillon Brooks have returned from injury. When the two were healthy earlier in the season, Green wasn’t. Brooks, Green, and Booker have only played ten games this season together, so it was inevitable that either Gillespie, O’Neale, or both were going to be sent to the second unit once all of them were healthy. Brooks and O’Neale both play the power forward spot, and Brooks is the better scorer and more versatile player, so if a spot in the starting lineup came down to the two of them, Brooks would and should get it. At least with Gillespie, he’s the team’s best true point guard, a role that neither Booker nor Jalen Green purely plays.
For a team that has struggled with staying healthy this season, O’Neale and Gillespie have been some of the team’s healthiest players. Only Oso Ighodaro has played more games this season; he’s played in every single one of the team’s games so far. As a result, they were going to be leading the team in starts.
Something needs to change for the Suns, not just for the playoffs, but for the Play-In tournament. After the Portland Trail Blazers’ win over the Los Angeles Clippers last night, it’s looking like Phoenix will face the Trail Blazers in the 7/8 game. While Phoenix won the series, Portland would be coming into the game as the hotter team of late; they’ve won nine of their last 13 games. The Suns still are super likely to make the playoffs, according to FanDuel.
The Suns prioritized rest in their game against the Lakers, with no player logging at least 29 minutes yesterday. When the team hosts the 7/8 game next week, will Gillespie and O’Neale still be coming off the bench? Should they be?
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