Sunday’s game against the Adelaide 36ers provided Phoenix Suns fans with their first look at Jock Landale, the 6’11” Australian who made his way to the franchise during the offseason.
Although the team performance was less than ideal as Adelaide walked away with a shock victory, Landale showed promising signs that suggest he can be an effective backup center in the Suns rotation.
While it was far from his best game, Jock Landale displayed offensive versatility that could prove functional within the Phoenix Suns system.
The Suns backup center position has been cause for speculation during the offseason, with Landale, Bismack Biyombo and Dario Saric all presenting as viable options. Biyombo appeared the incumbent after the loss of Javale McGee in free agency, but that may change ahead of the regular season.
Landale played just over 22 minutes of action against the 36ers, with Biyombo playing just three and Saric unsighted. This distribution shouldn’t be the basis of future expectations; as a veteran the Suns know what they’re getting with Biyombo, while there’s clearly an emphasis of seeing what they have with Landale. The fact they were playing a team from his home country would have also been a factor in his increased minutes.
However, Landale’s play did indicate upside that Biyombo simply doesn’t possess. His major strength is the ability to stretch the floor, and while going 0-for-4 wasn’t a perfect demonstration, he can obviously provide that threat from the perimeter.
The more impressive aspect was his work on the interior; Landale won’t be getting post-up opportunities in the Suns offense, but he did show an ability to punish mismatches when needed. His 12 points came through that and an aggression to get to the free-throw line, with that mindset translating to the offensive boards as well.
If he’s going to provide equivalent interior presence to Biyombo, then he’s clearly a preferable option given his shooting threat. There’s also upside in the fact he played zero time next to genuine playmakers in Devin Booker and especially Chris Paul. We saw what they could do in reviving Biyombo’s career last season, so it’ll be exciting what they could do with Landale given the extra pick-and-pop element.
Landale is firming as the Suns backup to Deandre Ayton, but the remainder of preseason will be telling to see where the pecking order lies.