Young Suns Center Tandem Faces Big Test vs Bulls

The Phoenix Suns will be without starter Mark Williams entering tonight's matchup against the Chicago Bulls due to injury, which opens the door for a young tandem of Oso Ighodaro and Khaman Maluach to play significant minutes.

Ighodaro, in his second season, has thrived under the guidance of head coach Jordan Ott. The backup center has quickly earned Ott's trust as a rim-running center with athleticism to get up and down the floor.

Maluach, a top ten pick this past NBA draft, hasn't played much this season with Phoenix's center depth. The plan with him isn't short term, however. He's developing in the team's G League squad and will have a prime opportunity to flash some of that top ten potential tonight.

"He'll be ready. I told him when he got drafted, that somehow, someway, there's always an opportunity during the year," Ighodaro said of Maluach at Suns shootaround (h/t Duane Rankin).

"His came 60 games in, but he's been working every single day. He was in here last night with me working out. He's ready for this moment."

Williams typically plays 24 minutes per night while Ighodaro sits at 20. Maluach has appeared in 26 games with five minutes averaged, mostly coming in during blowouts to wrap things up.

They'll be facing a very familiar face in Nick Richards, who was traded away from Phoenix at the deadline and has landed in Chicago. He's played 20+ minutes in five straight games for the Bulls.

With names such as Devin Booker, Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks on Phoenix's roster, Ighodaro's second year progress has somewhat flown under the radar.

"As a rookie, and the weight I was playing at last year, even just optics, teams would maybe duck in earlier or try to push me under the rim. So to your point, I do get a little more respect," Ighodaro continued. "That's just a testament to the work I put in this summer and the way I gained and the physicality that I'm playing with right now."

The second-year Suns center looks more poised and polished on the floor.

"We're just building with him. At times, we can play through him as a hub, but also trying to find the balance of when to run the floor, when to get behind, when to set pick-and-roll or when to trail," Ott said of Ighodaro this week.

We'll see how the Ighodaro-Maluach paint tandem pairs tonight, though it's a big opportunity for both to flex their respective muscles.