Jordan Ott

"Doesn't mean who starts will end the game." Phoenix coach Jordan Ott has not settled on Mark Williams or Oso Ighodaro at center, to start or to close. Williams has more late-game experience when teams foul Ighodaro, who brings plenty else. Opener is Oct. 21 in Portland.

Suns coach Jordan Ott hopes Luke Kennard and Oso Ighodaro are back for opening night but didn't commit. Everyone else came out of the preseason healthy: "I think we're in a pretty good place there." Miles Bridges returned, and Ott called his defensive intent "high level."

Luke Kennard's knee: "I don't know how serious it is," Suns coach Jordan Ott said after the Oct. 14 game, adding they didn't want to stretch him in it. Asked about the Oct. 16 game, Ott wouldn't commit. They'll know more in Phoenix once they see how the knee responds.

Duop Reath is "a different piece that we didn't have, but we're going to change it to his strengths," Suns coach Jordan Ott said Oct. 12. Reath will still be asked to crash the glass and pressure the ball. Ott's rule on defense: "at all costs, we need someone at the rim."

Asked whether Miles Bridges plays next, Suns coach Jordan Ott wouldn't commit. The ankle is recovering at a good rate, he said, but "we're not going to press on if it's not perfect." Nothing new came up physically, he added: "everyone's trending in the right direction."

From Suns practice Oct. 12: more of the offense is running through the center. "Everyone's playing through their 5 a little bit more," and the plan is to keep building on it. Oso Ighodaro and Collin Gillespie were named in that answer.

Luke Kennard is being told to shoot more. Suns coach Jordan Ott called him the team's best shooter, likening his movement shooting to Kyle Korver and Joe Harris. Collin Gillespie's message after a 48% three-point season: "shoot first and ask questions later."

Khaman Maluach got more center minutes than Oso Ighodaro on Oct. 10, but Suns coach Jordan Ott said "the next night you never know." Ott called it the rookie's best performance yet. Phoenix ran its offense through him at times with Victor Wembanyama staying in the paint.

The plan is for most Suns players to sit one of the next two preseason games, Jordan Ott said, but not which: "One of these 2. But we'll see. It's very fluid." They practice Oct. 12 and "see where we're at" Oct. 14. Center depth "took a hit with Mark" Williams; no detail given.

Miles Bridges' ankle X-ray was negative and he "avoided anything serious," Suns coach Jordan Ott said, but Ott wouldn't commit to him playing the next game: it depends on how he bounces back. "It's the preseason, so we'll be smart." Bridges got on the court a little.

Rasheer Fleming and Ryan Dunn aren't fighting for one rotation spot, Suns coach Jordan Ott said: "I don't think it's a battle. It's just we need all the reps we can get right now with those two guys." He called Dunn steadier with the ball and praised Fleming's hands and length.

New Suns Luke Kennard and Miles Bridges will be asked to help and pressure on defense, coach Jordan Ott said: "We're going to ask them to tag. We're going to ask them to pressure." He said their impact already shows on a deeper, bigger roster.

Miles Bridges tweaked his ankle on a freak play, and Jordan Ott said it "sucked the wind out of" a Suns group that had been playing well this preseason. No update; evaluation Oct. 8. "It didn't look that bad," Ott said. If Bridges can go next game, he plays.

Oso Ighodaro started at center for the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 5. Coach Jordan Ott's reason: "Oso was really good last year. Top 10 defensive center." He said lineups will change: "trying to figure out who plays with who, that's what this is all about right now."

Dillon Brooks handled the ball less by design for the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 5, playing as a catch-and-shoot option. "We just want Dillon to be Dillon," coach Jordan Ott said postgame. Injuries in January had required more of Brooks with the ball, Ott said.

Phoenix's starters sat the second half by design. "We wanted to play all their minutes in the first half," Jordan Ott said, building conditioning and keeping players healthy. Kennedy Chandler's fourth-quarter minutes were "off script": pressure demanded an extra ball handler.

Asked if all but Mark Williams will be available Oct. 4, Suns coach Jordan Ott said "Yeah, seems that way." Khaman Maluach said everyone left the scrimmage healthy. Ott will build up heavy-minute players over five preseason games; they played 20 to 24 minutes in the scrimmage.

Luke Kennard may get a new defensive role. The Phoenix Suns are "going to ask to probably do something he hasn't done," coach Jordan Ott said. Kennard clicked instantly with Oso Ighodaro in a scrimmage, and Ott said "that's something we'll take advantage of."

Miles Bridges will take some of the Phoenix Suns' bigger-wing defensive matchups, coach Jordan Ott said: "we have multiple options to guard some of those bigger wings." Ott also wants Bridges in screens between smaller players so possessions don't stall into one-on-one.

Khaman Maluach says the Phoenix Suns' starting center job is open between him and Oso Ighodaro: "it's not guaranteed for any of us... to start." Coach Jordan Ott said Maluach will begin by defending "up and aggressive" against screens, dropping back at times.

Suns practice: Jordan Ott set no date to name a starting center, saying he'll let the preseason play out and "the couple days going into it, we'll know." Miles Bridges will push the ball off defensive rebounds and run offense against pressure. Ott gave no Mark Williams update.

Ott: who starts and finishes at center will shift by matchup, but "once you get a starting center, you want to keep them for as long as you can." Miles Bridges is being asked to crash for rebounds on missed shots, new for him. Collin Gillespie says practice units change daily.

Ott called fouls the price of a more physical, turnover-hunting defense: "some of the fouling's okay because we want you to be so aggressive." Bridges said it breaks from the conservative style he's used to. On rebounds, Ott said: "if you're a crasher, you got to get 100%"

From Phoenix's practice: Devin Booker: Suns have "been healthy through this camp so far," Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks included. On Brooks' DUI charge: no distraction, "he addressed the team also, so we're moving on." Coach Jordan Ott: rotation players get minutes first.