PHOENIX -- Opening night is just a short time away for the Phoenix Suns, and they have finally revealed their starting center and full starting lineup ahead of their road matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers.
In a surprise move, Khaman Maluach has been given the starting nod over Ighodaro for tonight's matchup after the two battled it out in training camp and the preseason following Mark Williams' torn labrum in his left shoulder in the offseason.
The Suns waited until the last possible moment to make the center decision, but coach Jordan Ott has previously said Phoenix doesn't want to change its starting 5 on a game-by-game basis, so it appears Maluach will not only be the starter tonight but moving forward as well.
"We need 48 minutes of great center play. This kind of lines up to get the 48 minutes," Ott said pregame (via The Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin). "We're going to have to mix and match a little bit with their lineups, but we got a plan going in that we got two really good centers that are developing and want this.
"They want this competition. This is going to be a great crowd, opening night, and we have two young guys that are going to go out there and play hard and play our style."
Maluach is entering his second season after not playing much last season, but the Suns raved about the offseason he had, so now he will look to show why he was deserving of the spot over Ighodaro, who has more experience and just signed a three-year, $29 million extension.
Suns' Full Starters vs Blazers
Here's Phoenix's full starting lineup against Portland with the other four starters as expected:
- Jalen Green
- Devin Booker
- Dillon Brooks
- Miles Bridges
- Khaman Maluach
Green, Booker, Brooks and Bridges looked to have great chemistry together in the preseason when they shared the floor, so the Suns will hope that carries over to the regular season tonight.
With Luke Kennard out due to a knee injury, the Suns will run with a nine-man rotation rather than 10 unless they feel the need to go deeper into their bench, Ott said pregame.
What Suns Are Up Against vs Blazers
The Suns enter tonight having won their last four season openers and looking for revenge against a Blazers team that beat them in the No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in game last season.
They will take on a new-look Portland team with a new coach in Micah Nori and Damian Lillard returning from an Achilles injury and starting in the backcourt alongside new trade acquisition Ja Morant.
"The speed in the open court will stand out. You can tell they're trying to play fast," Ott said of his impressions of Portland's new backcourt. "And then Dame's ability to get hot at any moment. We've all seen it, especially in this building. Lot of energy that he brings when he gets going, so it's his shooting piece and then just their overall speed in the halfcourt.
"And then defensively, they have some really good aggressive defenders, and they make it challenging when their 5 is all the way back protecting the rim and (Toumani) Camara is on the basketball, hounding the ball. Really good team, I'm sure they'll want to build on it from last year."
Looking past Lillard and Morant, perhaps the biggest key tonight for the Suns is finding a way to slow down Deni Avdija, who has been very successful against Phoenix in the past with his ability to get downhill and is active after originally being questionable.
This could be a great test right away for a bigger starting body in Bridges to guard Avdija and see how what he can bring to the table to try to help improve some of their deficiencies from last season.
Tonight's game is scheduled to tip off shortly after 7 p.m. MST.
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