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The "next-man-up mentality" is a cliché phrase used by teams replacing absent players in certain positions. Phoenix Suns rookie big Oso Ighodaro has benefited from that during the past two games as their two-center rotation has thinned.
Mason Plumlee, who started for the injured Nick Richards (right ankle soreness), had two consecutive ejections in Phoenix's 111-104 loss at the Houston Rockets on Wednesday and their 122-106 home win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday.
Ighodaro scored eight points, six rebounds and a career-high four blocks in 28 minutes at Houston. Against Sacramento, he had 11 points, six rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block and just one turnover in 32 minutes. That resulted in his game-high plus-23 in plus-minus.
“Just trying to be ready, like I’ve been saying that all year," Ighodaro said after the game. "Just whatever they ask of me, being ready for it. Mason got ejected so just go out there and just play hard.”
The Suns praised Plumlee's next-man-up physicality for his Flagrant 2 fouls, tackling Houston's Steven Adams during an intensely tangled box-out late in the second quarter, and elbowing the head of Sacramento's Domantas Sabonis as they battled in the post at 5:47 in the third.
“We had a laugh with Mason," Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said. "It’d be nice if he made it through a whole game going into Sunday (at Los Angeles Lakers). But I think it’s good. We need that kind of physicality, the presence.”
Plumlee's early exits gave the Phoenix Desert Vista High School product Ighodaro chances to play beyond garbage time the past two months, and two separate stints on their G League team Valley Suns. Ighodaro's average minutes dropped from 16.8 to 5.9 after Richards was acquired from Charlotte and made his Suns' debut.
“It’s hard but this is what I’m getting paid to do," Ighodaro said. "I’m getting paid to stay ready and be there when they ask me to play."
In the first period's opening minutes against Sacramento, Plumlee was momentarily down and hobbled after he knocked knees with the burly, versatile 6-foot-10 Sabonis. Ighodaro substituted Plumlee at 7:34 and came in with a bang on a two-fisted dunk over Sabonis from a dime by Kevin Durant about a minute later. Ighodaro punched in another dunk from an alley-oop pass by Tyus Jones to energize the PHX Arena crowd.
“Having a lot of energy, being active and then using my advantages," Ighodaro said. He added about going head-to-head with Sabonis, "He’s heavier than me, but I’m faster, so just trying to use that to use my angles and use my advantages.”
Similar to Ighodaro's decline in playing time before the Rockets game, Phoenix's other rookie Ryan Dunn also shined against the Kings. Dunn started for the first time since Feb. 8, and finished with 16 points, five rebounds and a career-high four steals in 33 minutes. Before facing Sacramento on Friday, Dunn started in 28 of his 58 appearances this season.
Dunn and Ighodaro brought much-needed youthful energy on dunks to help put the Suns back in the win column, breaking a two-game skid to keep their play-in tournament prospects alive.
“Yeah, I mean, it felt good, you know, especially him," Dunn said. "I see that he was plus-23, that's a winner, that's something that's big for us. And we got a lot of emotion. I asked, kind of, what we need to bring every night, that kind of energy and that kind of emotion for these guys, you know, help kind of lead in that area.”
Durant understands the rookie growing pains of Ighodaro and Dunn, but commended their perseverance and staying positive.
“Ryan and Oso have been doing a good job of just sitting back and figuring out what the NBA is all about and seeing how they can inject themselves," Durant said. "Him and Oso are the main energetic guys on the bench when they weren’t playing, so all that stuff matters when you’re not in the game. So when you get into the game, your energy’s in the right place."
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns' Oso Ighodaro steps up after Plumlee ejection in win vs Kings
Continue reading...
Mason Plumlee, who started for the injured Nick Richards (right ankle soreness), had two consecutive ejections in Phoenix's 111-104 loss at the Houston Rockets on Wednesday and their 122-106 home win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday.
Ighodaro scored eight points, six rebounds and a career-high four blocks in 28 minutes at Houston. Against Sacramento, he had 11 points, six rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block and just one turnover in 32 minutes. That resulted in his game-high plus-23 in plus-minus.
“Just trying to be ready, like I’ve been saying that all year," Ighodaro said after the game. "Just whatever they ask of me, being ready for it. Mason got ejected so just go out there and just play hard.”
The Suns praised Plumlee's next-man-up physicality for his Flagrant 2 fouls, tackling Houston's Steven Adams during an intensely tangled box-out late in the second quarter, and elbowing the head of Sacramento's Domantas Sabonis as they battled in the post at 5:47 in the third.
“We had a laugh with Mason," Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said. "It’d be nice if he made it through a whole game going into Sunday (at Los Angeles Lakers). But I think it’s good. We need that kind of physicality, the presence.”
Plumlee's early exits gave the Phoenix Desert Vista High School product Ighodaro chances to play beyond garbage time the past two months, and two separate stints on their G League team Valley Suns. Ighodaro's average minutes dropped from 16.8 to 5.9 after Richards was acquired from Charlotte and made his Suns' debut.
“It’s hard but this is what I’m getting paid to do," Ighodaro said. "I’m getting paid to stay ready and be there when they ask me to play."
In the first period's opening minutes against Sacramento, Plumlee was momentarily down and hobbled after he knocked knees with the burly, versatile 6-foot-10 Sabonis. Ighodaro substituted Plumlee at 7:34 and came in with a bang on a two-fisted dunk over Sabonis from a dime by Kevin Durant about a minute later. Ighodaro punched in another dunk from an alley-oop pass by Tyus Jones to energize the PHX Arena crowd.
“Having a lot of energy, being active and then using my advantages," Ighodaro said. He added about going head-to-head with Sabonis, "He’s heavier than me, but I’m faster, so just trying to use that to use my angles and use my advantages.”
Similar to Ighodaro's decline in playing time before the Rockets game, Phoenix's other rookie Ryan Dunn also shined against the Kings. Dunn started for the first time since Feb. 8, and finished with 16 points, five rebounds and a career-high four steals in 33 minutes. Before facing Sacramento on Friday, Dunn started in 28 of his 58 appearances this season.
Dunn and Ighodaro brought much-needed youthful energy on dunks to help put the Suns back in the win column, breaking a two-game skid to keep their play-in tournament prospects alive.
“Yeah, I mean, it felt good, you know, especially him," Dunn said. "I see that he was plus-23, that's a winner, that's something that's big for us. And we got a lot of emotion. I asked, kind of, what we need to bring every night, that kind of energy and that kind of emotion for these guys, you know, help kind of lead in that area.”
Durant understands the rookie growing pains of Ighodaro and Dunn, but commended their perseverance and staying positive.
“Ryan and Oso have been doing a good job of just sitting back and figuring out what the NBA is all about and seeing how they can inject themselves," Durant said. "Him and Oso are the main energetic guys on the bench when they weren’t playing, so all that stuff matters when you’re not in the game. So when you get into the game, your energy’s in the right place."
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns' Oso Ighodaro steps up after Plumlee ejection in win vs Kings
Continue reading...
