Coach Budenholzer's lineup change comes agonizingly close to paying off for Suns

The Phoenix Suns saw their four game Western Conference road trip come to a tough end on Sunday, with the Minnesota Timberwolves pulling out an improbable 120-117 win. A defeat that will be remembered for the buzzer-beater of Julius Randle to win his side the game, when the reality is the Suns lost the matchup long before he took that shot.

Devin Booker looked back to his best with a 44 point outburst - but with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal both still nursing calf strains - the Suns continue to look vulnerable out there. Their bench is deeper than last season though which is just as well, because without the likes of Tyus Jones, Royce O'Neale and Josh Okogie, the franchise would surely be in a much worse position.

A quirky lineup shuffle almost paid off versus the Timberwolves as well.

Head coach Mike Budenholzer making the decision to start center Jusuf Nurkic and his backup Mason Plumlee together for the first time this season. Alongside Ryan Dunn, this gave the Suns the size and length to hang with the bigger and more imposing Timberwolves, especially considering Jones was their starting floor general.

Nurkic was limited to just 14 minutes on the night and was in foul trouble early - but in the opening five minutes - the decision to play both together looked like it might pay off in a big way for the coaching staff. The ability of both centers to handle the ball at the 3-point line allowing Booker to move around their massive frames and get open.

This was best illustrated in the early goings when Plumlee handed the ball off to Booker who - as a result of Nurkic and Plumlee not clogging the paint - found himself in tons of space at the nail. He gratefully stepped into and made the midrange shot, and it was these easier looks that allowed him to get into a rhythm.

Nurkic himself actually opened the scoring with a made 3-pointer - and although that's not where he can be at his most effective for these Suns - the fact coach Budenholzer has stuck with Nurkic's development of his long-range shots has been encouraging to see. It is a look he is going to get all season long, even more so when the playoffs do get underway.

The secondary aspect of starting the big men together - plus Dunn who has cooled off from deep and managed only two points in 18 minutes - was that it forced Booker to be more aggressive. The Suns got 26 points combined from their four other starters - and while Grayson Allen's 18 off the bench was a massive boost - Booker stepped up to the challenge.

Outside of an ill-advised shot from way beyond the 3-point line in the second half, it felt like Booker took all of his shots within the flow of the offense as well. The great shame here then is that we didn't get to see as much of Nurkic and Plumlee playing together as we would have liked, because the early returns looked promising.

This won't work against every opponent, but the Timberwolves flat out bullied the Suns in the postseason last year. To know they can now trot out a trio of Nurkic, Plumlee and Dunn - plus Okogie and Oso Ighodaro off the bench - is comforting to know. They may have lost this game, but the gamble on the duel bigs almost paid off, and it is worth revisiting again soon.