Cheick Diallo
Seat Cushion
Poor ole Diallo. The big man from Mali has played limited minutes in his first season with the Phoenix Suns, and with Deandre Ayton set to return (again) there likely won’t be a spot in the rotation for him in the immediate future.
And because he will likely spending so much time on the bench, I stuffed his imaginary stocking with a seat cushion.
When he has gotten in the game, he hasn’t played horribly. In fact, you could argue he’s played pretty well.
During the week of Thanksgiving, he put up 22 points against the Denver Nuggets and followed it up with a double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) against the Washington Wizards. He even hit a corner 3-pointer a few games later against the Orlando Magic, his only attempt of the season, on a play that looked like was drawn up for him.
It is good to see him show signs of a viable NBA big man. He is long and mobile so all the signs are there, he just can’t seem to shake the “project” label off himself. Until then, Suns fans won’t likely see him in many games and thus, the seat cushion.
Ho Ho Ho. Happy holidays to you and yours from me and the entire Valley of the Suns team.