Throughout a turnaround season for the Phoenix Suns under first-year head coach Jordan Ott, backup center Oso Ighodaro has received plenty of praise for his contributions in his second year as a pro.
Rightfully so, as the Arizona native has improved his stats nearly across the board (save for free throw shooting and turnovers). His on/off numbers tell the story, as the Suns are 7.2 points per 100 possessions better when Ighodaro is on the court vs. when he’s sitting on the bench. Opponents’ offensive rating of 109.6 when Oso is playing is significantly worse than when Ighodaro sits at 116.2.
Now, a second NBA sophomore on the Suns might be hitting his stride as well.
Ryan Dunn’s 3-point shooting is finding a rhythm
Ryan Dunn certainly isn’t having a sophomore slump, but a second-year leap isn’t happening either.
His playing time has stayed steady at right around 19 minutes per game. He’s averaging 6.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 0.9 steals per game this season, compared to 6.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.6 steals as a rookie.
Again, there’s no big leap happening on paper for Dunn, but his potential as a “3-and-D” wing stays bubbling beneath the surface.
Well, in the month of February to this point (five games played), the “3” part of 3-and-D seems to be coming around for the former first-round pick.
In those five games in February, Dunn is cashing a stellar 54.5% of his 3-point attempts (6-of-11 shooting). That’s a huge leap from his January mark of 32.4% from distance and his ice-cold December shooting of 22.7% from beyond the arc.
It’s a small sample size, but Dunn seems to be getting back to the outside shooting rhythm he had in November when he made 42.4% of his triples in 10 games (five starts).
Dunn is already a huge asset on this Suns team as a capable, switchable defender who can also get out and finish in transition. His highlight dunks have been a thing of beauty this season.
If Dunn can find consistency with his 3-point shot to pair with that defensive hustle and rim-wrecking, he’ll provide a ton more value to Ott for the rest of the season.
The Suns are currently without their best 3-point sniper as Grayson Allen deals with yet another injury — this time a knee sprain which will be reevaluated after the All-Star break. If Dunn can pick up where Allen left off in the interim by knocking down his 3-point shots, that takes a lot of pressure off guys like Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks to score every time down.
The Suns don’t need Dunn to be a volume shooter or scorer, but having him convert the 3-point looks he does get in the flow of a game will make Phoenix all the more difficult to stop.