Suns Rookie Khaman Maluach Taking Advantage of His Moment

PHOENIX — Khaman Maluach might just be on the way.

The Phoenix Suns are missing starting center Mark Williams for the next two-to-three weeks with a foot injury, propping up Maluach and fellow backup Oso Ighodaro to more minutes in the mean time.

Ighodaro played consistently as Phoenix's No. 2 center while Maluach has played sparingly — practically only at the end of blowouts.

It hasn't been a typical rookie season for a top-ten draft pick, though opportunity has knocked for Maluach. If Friday's win against the New Orleans Pelicans is any indication of what's to come, the Duke product just might be answering.

Maluach recorded five blocks to pair with four points, four rebounds and one assist against New Orleans.

"I think the biggest thing is just that he knows he's getting consistent minutes. Hopefully, the first game jitters of being in there were out after last night. Doesn't change, we wouldn't put you in there if we didn't believe in you," said Suns head coach Jordan Ott after action.

"And we're going to continue to help him. Thought his presence at the rim, especially a team like this, like we talked about, it gets there so often, even when some of the foul calls were close. So that's great, it's a great starting point. Clean those up and then next game, he will be even better, and that's what we're looking for."

Maluach was widely viewed as a project entering this season, and the Suns didn't appear to be rushing him into action — especially with Williams, Ighodaro and previously Nick Richards ahead of him.

Now, Maluach looks to be in line to earn more minutes in the immediate future, which is big for the Suns in their attempt to climb up the standings of the Western Conference.

"He makes a huge impact on the defensive end," Suns guard Collin Gillespie said.

"I think once he is in those situations more, we kind of throw him in the fire right now and let him learn that way. Once he gets to the speed of the game, he'll get even better. He was awesome tonight in terms of energy. Playing through mistakes obviously, he's a young guy, but you can control your effort and your attitude and he does that every day."

Maluach is coming off his first two-game stretch of 10+ minutes each, so it'll be interesting to note how he performs and how teams potentially adjust to his presence down low.

”I’ve always been confident, it's just the reps needed and the experience and I've been really getting it from my coaches and my teammates coaching me on the bench and coaching me through moments like today," Maluach said after the win against New Orleans.

“It's great support, and it really hypes me up to see that my teammates got my back. Whatever I do they're gonna help me through everything."