What Suns Have to Change Before Thunder Series Slips Away

Everything needs to be on the table at this point for the Suns and coach Jordan Ott.

Apr 22, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Phoenix Suns head coach Jordan Ott watches his team play against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first half during game two of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- After a strong close in their 120-107 Game 2 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, things seem to be trending up for the Phoenix Suns ahead of Game 3 in Phoenix tomorrow.

Phoenix could also be getting back at least one of Jordan Goodwin (left calf soreness), Grayson Allen (left hamstring strain) or Mark Williams (left foot third metatarsal stress reaction) after all three key players missed last game.

However, there is still plenty for the Suns to clean up and coach Jordan Ott to learn as the series goes on.

Here's one big thing Ott can implement beginning in Game 3:

What Jordan Ott Needs to Do to Save Series vs Thunder

Apr 22, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Phoenix Suns head coach Jordan Ott watches his team play against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second half during game two of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Although the Suns have been dealing with injuries, Ott needs to be ready to pull players when they are struggling, especially in this matchup where the Thunder take advantage of any weakness they can find.

This was evident in the fourth quarter last game when Jalen Green went 1-for-6 and had four turnovers, which proved to be costly in Phoenix's long shot at a comeback, but stayed in regardless.

However, this area is a lot more general, as the Suns do have options to try out when their main players aren't performing well, and they can simply sub them out and keep rotating until they find a good solution.

Khaman Maluach was a prime example of this last game, as Ott had been relying a lot on Oso Ighodaro with Williams out, but actually stuck with Maluach the whole fourth quarter, and his rim protection made a huge difference, as he ended the night as a team-high plus-10 in 19 minutes.

Now, this can expand to other positions where the team needs a burst at times.

If Dillon Brooks or Royce O'Neale are struggling at certain moments, the Suns have Rasheer Fleming, Haywood Highsmith and even Amir Coffey as other options at the wings, and at this point, would not hurt to try, especially with Ryan Dunn unable to make his presence felt so far this series.

The backcourt is a tougher situation with Allen and Goodwin injured, but Phoenix can still rotate Collin Gillespie in as needed if he's not on the floor (in the example of Green) or just play with more size.

Everything needs to be on the table for the Suns now, and Ott has not showed a willingness to change much of the rotation, but with Phoenix down 0-2, he might be forced to and trying new solutions for struggling players would not hurt in the situation the Suns find themselves in.

Additionally, for players like Maluach and Fleming, getting more minutes in a playoff series will only help their development for the future.

Almost every time the Suns needed a player to step up in the regular season when their number was called, they were able to, and now Ott should be leaning more into this with the Suns on the ropes in this first-round series.