Miles Bridges' impact among 5 takeaways from Suns preseason opener

The Phoenix Suns built a 19-point lead against the Detroit Pistons in their preseason debut, and while they ultimately lost after playing the youngsters and backups in the second half, there was plenty to digest. Here are some key takeaways from the Suns’ return to organized games for the first time since getting swept out of the NBA playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Dillon is still “The Villain”

It took fewer than five minutes for Dillon “The Villain” Brooks to pick up a technical foul in the preseason opener.

Last season’s NBA leader in the category wasted little time mixing things up, emulating the Bad Boy Pistons against Detroit. Brooks wrapped up forward John Collins on the inside for a foul after some extremely physical play. Collins responded in kind, getting a flagrant foul himself after officials consulted the replays that showed Collins pushing his hands into Brooks’ throat.

The first five minutes of NBA preseason don’t usually get this chippy, but Brooks was in mid-season form.

Free throw shooting needs a reset

While an ongoing concern remains Oso Ighodaro’s poor free-throw shooting—something the big man hopes to address this season—the entire Suns team seemed to impersonate him in the preseason opener.

The Suns finished the game with an atrocious 17-of-33 shooting from the charity stripe (51.5 percent). Youngsters Koa Peat and Khaman Maluach went 0-for-6 combined, and Jalen Green missed two attempts of his own.

Hopefully they can chalk this up to nerves or rust, but they would have easily held on for a win had they converted their free throws. That won't make head coach Jordan Ott happy.

Healthy Jalen Green is a good sight for Suns fans

Speaking of Jalen Green, the wiry guard looked explosive for Phoenix with an offseason to get his legs underneath him after an injury-plagued debut season in The Valley a season ago.

He threw down a nice alley-oop lob from new teammate Miles Bridges, slashed to the rim with consistency, and drew contact to get to the free throw line six times.

Suns analyst Rex Chapman gave glowing reviews to Green throughout the broadcast, noting his work ethic in the offseason to get back to himself after a down year marred by injury. He finished with 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting. Only face of the franchise Devin Booker (13 points) scored more.

Solid debut from Miles Bridges

The early returns from new addition Miles Bridges were largely positive for the Suns in his preseason debut.

The former Charlotte Hornet did a little bit of everything for Phoenix. He scored eight points (including a corner 3 off a Devin Booker assist), grabbed five rebounds, and dished out four assists to accompany a steal on the first defensive possession.

Bridges’ rebounding ability will be under the microscope this season for a team that struggled on the defensive glass a season ago. That was true even before Mark Williams got sidelined due to a torn labrum in his shoulder. He did a solid job here.

Jordan Goodwin worth every penny of extension

Though he was one of the more under-the-radar offseason signings when compared with Mark Williams, Collin Gillespie, and even former Los Angeles Lakers sniper Luke Kennard, Jordan Goodwin picked up right where he left off a season ago in the preseason opener.

Despite coming off the bench, "Goody" led all Suns players with six rebounds (three on the offensive glass). Goodwin is arguably the best offensive-rebounding guard in all of basketball, and put himself in rarefied air a season ago for his glass-crashing and propensity to pick up steals—he had three of them in the opener against Detroit.

The reigning Dan Majerle Hustle Award winner has a stranglehold on that honor until proven otherwise. He continues to be an extremely valuable part of this Suns roster.

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