Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Trio of Suns Role Players Flip the Script

Originally posted on FanNation Inside The Suns
By Kevin Hicks | Last updated 2/1/24

The Phoenix Suns are looking up.

The Suns have won 14 of their last 19 games since falling to 14-15 on Christmas Day.

While much of that stretch has been built around the flashes of dominance via the big three and Grayson Allen/Jusuf Nurkic, a trio of role players have elevated their play over the past week.

Josh Okogie, Drew Eubanks, and Keita Bates-Diop have all flashed moments of brilliance in support roles over the recent stretch of games - with Okogie/Diop shooting over 40% from three over the last 10 games.

Eubanks has once again flashed the ability of being a serviceable roll man, play finisher, and help defender over this stretch following a long stretch of being rendered rather ineffective.

Okogie and Bates-Diop have been playable over this stretch due to their consistency from behind the arc, but Suns fans shouldn't forget both have the innate ability to exhibit pure hustle on a possession-by-possession basis.

"It's good to catch a rhythm, play with confidence, play free and most importantly get two dubs on the road especially," said Okogie following the team's win over Brooklyn. He's now pieced together consecutive 11-point outings while maintaining his strong defensive prowess.

The potential emergence of three candidates to make coach Frank Vogel's presumably eight or nine-deep playoff rotation eases potential concerns surrounding the viability of the supporting cast - at least temporarily.

Any sign of progress for a rotation that has lacked consistent play from anyone outside of the top six is a very welcome development.

The Suns would still be prudent to kick the tires on potential upgrades through the trade and buyout market, but the potential of having consistent contributions off the bench outside of Eric Gordon could lead to an even higher ceiling for a Suns squad that has seemingly hit their stride.

This article first appeared on FanNation Inside The Suns and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: