Suns Notes: Nurkic, Plumlee, Ighodaro, T. Jones, Dunn, Beal

Suns center Jusuf Nurkic received his second straight DNP-CD in today’s win over Utah, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Nurkic started the first 23 games he appeared in, but he lost that job when coach Mike Budenholzer decided to shake up his starting lineup earlier this week. He played 14 and 19 minutes in the next two games, but now appears to be out of the rotation entirely in favor of Mason Plumlee and Oso Ighodaro.

“He’s a pro,” Budenholzer said about Nurkic following the game. “He’s got to be ready. Everybody is earning their minutes. Everybody is earning their opportunities. We’re going to need everybody as we go through the season.”

The minutes at center were split almost evenly on Saturday, with Plumlee posting six points and 10 rebounds and Ighodaro producing nine points, two rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Rankin notes that Nurkic is the best rebounder of the group, and Utah collected 21 offensive rebounds without him in the game. However, Plumlee and Ighodaro provide increased mobility on offense and are more likely to keep the ball moving.

Devin Booker told reporters that Ighodaro is “bringing energy and that’s something we’ve been lacking the past couple of weeks.”

There’s more from Phoenix:

• Booker has been running the offense more frequently, which means Tyus Jones is often being used in an off-ball role, Rankin states in the same piece. That’s an unexpected twist for the offseason addition, who appealed to Phoenix because of his elite assist-to-turnover ratio. Rankin notes that Jones’ minutes have declined since he returned from a recent one-game absence due to illness, and he’s no longer in the team’s closing lineup. The Suns have been successful with the new approach, so Rankin expects it to continue.
• After falling to the 28th pick in last year’s draft, Ryan Dunn never expected to be a starter so soon, Rankin adds. Dunn’s defensive skills bring balance to a lineup loaded with scorers. “I didn’t, you now, as much with me being in a starting lineup in getting a lot of minutes, I didn’t expect that for myself,” Dunn said. “I didn’t come here with a lot of expectations. I was coming to work and doing whatever I had to do to play.”
• Bradley Beal, who was also moved to the bench this week, is excelling in his new role as a sixth man, Rankin notes in a separate story. Beal can be more aggressive in providing instant offense as he no longer has to settle for being the third option. “When you look at the whole game, he’s playing a lot of minutes, still getting his shots up,” Kevin Durant said. “So now coming into the games, I feel like he’s just comfortable understanding where his shots are going to come from. Sometimes that’s a struggle not understanding exactly what the role is at that point.”