The Phoenix Suns didn’t know if star player Bradley Beal would suit up against the Dallas Mavericks in their home opener this weekend.
Beal – dealing with an elbow injury – was questionable before eventually being ruled out ahead of game time, leaving a spot open in the starting lineup.
Starting lineups, if not revealed by the coach in their pre-game press conference, are released 30 minutes ahead of opening tip.
When Phoenix unveiled their starting unit vs. Dallas, rookie Ryan Dunn’s name was among the five.
Dunn – the Suns’ first-round pick out of Virginia – had impressed through early play of preseason and training camp, though getting the nod from coach Mike Budenholzer to guard one of the league’s top players in Luka Doncic was a different test.
He passed.
Dunn notched 13 points, one rebound and one assist in 21 minutes of action while playing some top notch defense along the way.
Certainly not an incredible night in the box score, though the rookie earned praise from the Suns after his first start, helping Phoenix reach victory.
“I think it was a great night for Ryan (Dunn). That there (Luka Dončić) is one of the top, top players in our league, a top test in our league to go into the lab and learn from it,” said Budenholzer after the game.
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“He had some good possessions, and he had some possessions where we can look at it and talk about where he can improve. I thought the defense and his athleticism were a positive and then the three in the fourth quarter was huge, the threes throughout the game, shooting it with confidence. You know, a good night for Ryan (Dunn).”
Suns center Jusuf Nurkic says he shared a bit of advice for the rookie, who found himself in foul trouble.
“I love it man, he didn’t blend for a little bit now, with the young guys, he just popped. The both of them, Ryan (Dunn) and Oso (Ighodaro) just want to be out there to compete. They don’t care who they guard and what the league calls for fouling and they get mad and when he (Ryan Dunn) was coming out of the game, he was like, ‘You can’t even play hard.’ I said, ‘You a rookie man. You got to take it one step at a time.’