The Phoenix Suns began their four-game Western Conference road trip - and first Emirates NBA Cup game - with a 120-112 victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night. The perfect opponent to face having lost Kevin Durant to injury and with Ryan Dunn, Devin Booker and Jusuf Nurkic all not 100 percent either.
Booker and Dunn did play against the Jazz - as did Bradley Beal after avoiding serious injury himself - although Nurkic sat and was replaced by backup big, Mason Plumlee. This allowed rookie Oso Ighodaro to get more run, and he ended the night having played 21 minutes as the backup.
It was the return of Monte Morris that really surprised though.
It was not so long ago that we proclaimed that Morris could be a trade candidate once the restrictions lift on his minimum deal and he can be dealt in mid-December. Not that the Suns could get much back for what would effectively be a rental on barely any money, but Morris is a serviceable point guard in this league.
It's exactly why the Suns went out and got him this offseason, before somehow adding Tyus Jones on his own minimum contract. Right away it looked like Morris was going to struggle for a consistent role, and that has been the case so far this season. It is hard to be the regular backup, when you're competing for minutes with Booker, Beal, Jones, Royce O'Neale and Grayson Allen.
The Monte Morris minutes continue to be good.
— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) November 13, 2024
The Jazz game represented a turning point for Morris though, as he forced his way back into the rotation to the tune of two points and two assists. Those numbers aren't important though, the figure to look at is the 15 minutes of action he saw on the court. Three more than Josh Okogie, although that in itself is a positive for Morris.
With Durant out, Booker recovering from illness and the next tumble for Beal seemingly never far away, it is telling that head coach Mike Budenholzer opted for Morris more than Okogie to bring up the rear of his bench group. As it was Booker, Beal and Jones played 66 minutes combined, so it is not like they sat any more than usual in this one.
To date Morris has appeared in seven games at roughly 10 minutes per night, and it was hard to see that changing while the Suns were healthy and rolling. Harsh as it may be to say - when this team is firing on all cylinders - there is no regular spot for Morris. The franchise will also be hoping that is the case come the playoffs, as they'll need to be fully healthy to make some noise.
But with some unexpected injuries happening at the same time, the Suns have proven that they were one of the winners of the offseason because they have a guy like Morris in reserve. He's able to step into a bigger role when required, even if the next DNP won't be too far away once Durant gets healthy again.