Many debuts for the Phoenix Suns in preseason game 2

The Phoenix Suns fell to the Sacramento Kings 105-88 Thursday night in the team’s second preseason game but the final result wasn’t the story. Four Suns came back from injury to make their in-game debut for the year.

Preseason game 2 for the Phoenix Suns against the Sacramento Kings featured in-game debuts for Kelly Oubre Jr., Mikal Bridges, Jalen Lecque, and a masked Aron Baynes.

The results were what you may have expected for guys that haven’t seen much, if any, scrimmage time in training camp.

Oubre, returning after weeks off with notorious hand discomfort, finished with 0-9 from the field, including 0-5 behind the arc in 19 minutes of action. Even though his shots weren’t falling, he showed aggression on the offensive end, getting to the line often. He made 8 of this 10 free throw attempts to salvage what was an otherwise ugly stat line.

Mikal Bridges, back from a knee issue, had four points, three rebounds, and three turnovers in 15 minutes of play. It was almost as if he was just happy to be back out there, testing his knee and getting used to the offense. That is the kind of thing preseason games are for.

Jalen Lecque also made his season debut, albeit for a brief four minutes. He made the most of his short time on the court, showing tremendous assertiveness and drawing fouls. He finished with six points, four of which came from the line. The youngster is trying to show he can do more than just provide highlight dunks in warmups.

Then there was Aron Baynes. After fracturing his nose in training camp, the large Australian added a mask to his already intimidating appearance. After sitting out open practice and preseason game one, Baynes played 20 minutes against the Kings Thursday night.

His stat line won’t wow you, just like it might not during the regular season. He ended up with just two points and three rebounds. However, he showed no fear and little discomfort playing in the headgear, something that he will likely adorn for several weeks to come.

With these guys coming back from injuries, one player found himself in the opposite situation. Tyler Johnson didn’t play due to a migraine.

Before you go bashing him not playing because of a headache, or joke that his poor performance in preseason game one gave everyone a headache, know that migraines are real, and they can be debilitating.

I once had a girl with cancel three dates on me on three Fridays in a row because of a migraine. I never saw her again, so no word on if she ever recovered.

In the battle for the 10-man rotation, whatever ground Ty Jerome made in game one was seized back by Jevon Carter in game two. The bald guy named Leroy must have had a healthy portion of rocks before the game, because he played superbly, putting up 16 points and two steals while leading the team in minutes with 25.

The knock on Carter’s game has been his shooting, but in the first two games, he is 3 for 7 from behind the arc including 2 of 4 against the Kings. Add in a team-best five steals through two games, and the West Virginian is proving those who were quick to overlook him for Ty Jerome may have spoken too soon.

He also nailed a sweet runner at the end of the third quarter as the Suns tried to mount a comeback.

The one drawback to this game was that it was difficult to find a free version of it anywhere. It wasn’t on TV, so while fubo.tv and NBA League Pass work great, those looking for a non-pay stream had to risk malware and worse from less-than-reputable sites in order to watch the Phoenix Suns play a preseason game.

It all begs the philosophical question: if the Phoenix Suns play a game, but no one is around to see it, did they really lose?