The Phoenix Suns won their second pre-season game last night, beating the Detroit Pistons 97-105. Kevin Durant led the team with 21 points in 19 minutes, but his leadership was on full display too. KD shared several minutes with Ryan Dunn, and it seems the rookie was inspired by Durant’s words.
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Dunn spoke to the media at Michigan State’s Breslin Center, revealing his interactions with the Slim Reaper. “I look up to him as well, because he believes in me. ‘It’s kind of easy for you today, let some go.’ And if Kevin Durant says shoot, let it go,” Ryan Dunn shared.
"Get pressure on him."
"It's still only two games. I know everybody is trying to say, but it's a whole season."
"If Kevin Durant says shoot, let it go."
Rookie Ryan Dunn on defending Cade Cunningham, 3-of-5 from 3 and interaction with Durant in Suns win over Pistons. #Suns pic.twitter.com/2XRKpNRhIM
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) October 9, 2024
His shooting from deep was a pleasant surprise. During Dunn’s two-year stint in Virginia, he converted only 12 three-pointers. Against Detroit, the 21-year-old made a quarter of those, including one off the dribble and two off the catch. This is exactly what the Suns will be looking for from Dunn as it helps them avoid rotations where KD is guarding stars like Cade Cunningham.
It’s promising to see the 2014 MVP step up and rally the younger players. With the Suns’ roster depth running a little thin in certain positions, Kevin Durant & Co. might be relying more on their rookies towards the middle of the season.
Dunn and fellow first-year player Oso Ighodaro both received significant playing time against the Pistons. Dunn displayed the defensive chops that got him selected onto the Naismith Men’s Defensive Player of the Year Watch List in college. He tallied 10 points, 4 rebounds, one assist, one steal, and two blocks in 17 minutes, playing excellent defense against Cade Cunningham.
Oso Ighodaro was the 40th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Coming off of 4 seasons at Marquette, the 22-year-old contributed in a variety of ways to the Suns’ pre-season victory. He recorded 6 points, 7 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks, displaying greater versatility as a big than Jusuf Nurkic and Mason Plumlee.
Both of the Suns’ rookies excelled defensively in pre-season. Ighodaro was tasked with slowing down LeBron James and Anthony Davis during the pre-season opener and he came out of the game with 12 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. He has the potential to make some plays off the bench, which will be very valuable for Phoenix.
Kevin Durant sees their value and he touched on how they can help the team following the pre-season game. “We’re going to need them to develop fast. We’re going to need them to, you know, come out here and provide some good spark for us off the bench. They started off on a great note,” the 14-time All-Star explained.
"We're going to need them to develop fast."
"We just tried to lock in on the stuff (Bud) put on film, fighting over screens."
"We got a lot of space out there."
"It was amazing."
Kevin Durant on Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro, defense, offense and playing at Michigan State. #Suns pic.twitter.com/XaOm3okSkg
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) October 9, 2024
With the regular season just a few weeks away, we’ll soon find out what role coach Mike Budenholzer will want Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro to play. Some development time in the G-League would not be the biggest surprise for the late selections from the 2024 NBA Draft.
