Phoenix Suns · 12 notes
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."
"I feel like we got the best bench unit in the league and to add me to it, it'll be great too." Miles Bridges will come off Phoenix's bench with Luke Kennard, Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin, and is picking up full court on defense for the first time since Michigan State.
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."
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.
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.
Phoenix's Jordan Goodwin says having Miles Bridges and Dillon Brooks means he'll guard more guards, fewer of the taller forwards he took last season. Point guard is his easiest spot, running the bench and getting Collin Gillespie going. On Jalen Green, he gave no update.
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.
Miles Bridges said the plan this year is to touch the paint more to open up shooters: "I get to the paint at will, and I got guys that know how to shoot." Collin Gillespie on a pickup scrap with Dillon Brooks: "I was ready to kill him." He called it just competing.
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%"