After last night, the Phoenix Suns have now given every player on their roster some real minutes this season other than recently-signed two-way guard Théo Maledon.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Two-way players Udoka Azubuike and Saben Lee got their first opportunity to show coach Frank Vogel what they can do on the court last night. The Suns ended up getting run out of the gym by the Kings, but Azubuike and Lee filled in for some injured and struggling players seamlessly as Phoenix looks for answers having now lost eight of its last 11 and four of its last five.
Azubuike had 11 points and 11 rebounds on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting night in his 22 minutes. Lee had six points, four assists and three rebounds in his 20 minutes.
The Suns have been plugging and trying out players these last few games and may have found something with Lee and Azubuike. I asked coach Frank Vogel about the struggles of finding a clear rotation over a third of the way through the season on Thursday, a day before this game.
“It’s always a balance,” Vogel said. “We knew that early on in the season we were gonna give a lot of our role players, minimum contract guys opportunities to earn a big role on the team. And we’re still in the process of giving those guys opportunities, evaluating what they can do and seeing where they fit … Until somebody jumps out and grabs those minutes, we’re still going to look at whatever guys we need to look at to try to get wins.”
Asked by @brendan_mau if he expects to have a set rotation, Frank Vogel said #Suns are still in the process of finding which role players stand out and take spots. pic.twitter.com/sfMxfffGNs
— Trevor Booth (@TrevorMBooth) December 21, 2023
Azubuike might have been someone that “jumped out” against the Kings.
Udoka Azubuike
Phoenix was without Jusuf Nurkić for the first time this season last night. Not only did Azubuike fill in well in the backup center minutes he got, he might have shown enough in one game to be given those minutes over Drew Eubanks.
Eubanks started the night, but only played 16 minutes and had two points and two rebounds as he continues to try to find a way to impact the game.
The 24-year-old Azubuike is best known for his four collegiate seasons at Kansas (2016-2020). He averaged 12.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks on 74.6% shooting in 87 games played for the Jayhawks.
The center was drafted in the first round in 2020 by the Jazz with the 27th overall pick. He had his best season last year in Utah, shooting an ultra-impressive 81.9% from the field on 72 shots attempted in total.
You could tell how excited Azubuike’s teammates were for him when Kevin Durant got a technical for celebrating a dunk of his.
Earlier in the Suns vs. Kings Game, Kevin Durant (on the bench) and Devin Booker got T'd up on this play 👀
Thoughts? 🤔pic.twitter.com/v2hXtgHMor
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 23, 2023
Here is what Azubuike, his coach and Durant said about his big performance (via Duane Rankin/AZ Central):
"It feels good."
"The work."
Hopefully so."
"I'm all about the team."
Udoka Azubuike on playing, staying ready, future opportunities and reaction to Frank Vogel calling him an ass kicker after posting 11 points and 11 boards in Suns loss Friday to Kings. #Suns pic.twitter.com/7l8uP38gEf
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) December 23, 2023
"He did a good job defensively and pushing the pace, touching the paint offensively."
"He's an ass kicker."
Frank Vogel on contributions of two-way players Saben Lee and Udoka Azubuike after Friday's loss at Kings.
Azubuike 11 points, 11 boards.
Lee 6 points, 4 assists. #Suns pic.twitter.com/IsnUyb4GX0— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) December 23, 2023
"Fearless."
Kevin Durant on Udoka Azubuike play in loss to Kings.
Can this lead to more minutes?
"I hope so. You never know in this league. Guys can play extremely well and still just be a numbers game where guys make more money than you, they're not going to play you." #Suns pic.twitter.com/77fjN7KZbR
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) December 23, 2023
Two-way players can only play 50 games during the regular season and are not eligible for the playoffs.
We will see if the Suns end up cutting a player and signing Azubuike to a standard contract depending if Azubuike can keep up this level of play.
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
