Ranking every Phoenix Suns player from season opener v Mavericks

The Phoenix Suns produced an exhilarating comeback on Wednesday night, clawing back a 22-point deficit to beat the Dallas Mavericks in front of home fans at Footprint Center.

Pessimism and negativity filled the air for the majority of the game — even after the Suns ignited the crowd during a dominant run in the third, a virtuoso phase from Christian Wood left bleak hopes halfway through the fourth quarter.

A Damion Lee game-winner in the final seconds capped off the Phoenix Suns remarkable turnaround in a 107-105 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

While much was left to the Suns core group, it was Lee who sparked the Suns renaissance late in the contest. His three triples were enough to force Monty Williams into benching Chris Paul for the closing minutes, a controversial ploy that turned masterstroke as Lee drilled the tough baseline jumpshot with 9.7 seconds to play.

Williams had earlier utilized 12 players in the opening half, before shortening the rotation significantly as the situation became more desperate. Unexpectedly, the final stats displayed the closeness of the game — each team shot a similar percentage from the field and three-point range, while the Suns ten extra field-goal attempts were offset by the Mavericks 12 extra free-throws.

Here is every Suns player ranked with some thoughts for each.

12. Dario Saric

Played less than two minutes of gametime — fairly unsurprising given he missed the last two preseason games for the birth of his child. Given he’s still only played around 20 minutes of NBA basketball (inc. preseason) since the 2021 Finals, you’d have to think there’s some level of training load he needs to get through for Williams to trust him further.

11. Josh Okogie

Four minutes of action yielded just one rebound and a foul. Missed his two-three point attempts badly — that was always going to be the issue and it’s hard to see him overcoming it.

10. Bismack Biyombo

Probably wouldn’t have seen just over seven minutes if not for Deandre Ayton’s foul trouble in the first half. Just the two rebounds and an assist to go with one turnover and two fouls — very little impact.

9. Torrey Craig

Had one electric putback dunk in the first quarter — that was literally it for his nearly nine minutes, yet it was still more than the above three players.