Lost in the madness of the Phoenix Suns' second straight win over the New Orleans Pelicans (that came with some hands being thrown), was the return of a role player to the rotation.
Forward Isiah Livers playing 11 minutes after being out just over a month with a hip strain, and it was immediately clear that head coach Jordan Ott was delighted to have him out there.
Livers has spot in rotation for as long as he is healthy
There was one moment during the game, that you can check out below, that perfectly encapsulated why it is the coaching staff love having him out there.
Can see in this one play why coach Ott rates Livers so highly, and also unfortunately why Hayes-Davis never sees the court https://t.co/5MrWPUnZBI
— Valley of the Suns (@ValleyoftheSuns) December 28, 2025
Not only is he a big body, he is mobile and is willing to hustle back on lost possessions in a way that coach Ott expects everybody on the roster to. That kind of effort after some time out, well that's Phoenix Suns basketball this season.
Livers was scoreless in the game, although he did finish with a game score of plus one, but that's not the point. He's not out there to put the ball in the basket, which is ironically why he has beaten Nigel Hayes-Davis out of the rotation altogether.
We had put forward the idea that the former EuroLeague Final Four MVP might get one more chance to impress given the injuries in The Valley currently. Then Livers came back and shot that idea down in a couple of minutes.
Hayes-Davis is the better scorer of the two, but coach Ott doesn't want or need his backup forwards to be able to score in bunches and do nothing else.
That is likely why Rasheer Fleming has struggled to break through in his rookie campaign, although that is slowly changing and he does represent a threat to Livers getting more game time.
The sample size remains small because of the time the 27-year-old has spent on the sidelines, but Phoenix is a whopping 10 points better off defensively (going from 113.5 to 103.1 points conceded) when he is out there.
He also remains a more reliable defensive option than second year prospects Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro, despite both being by far the better athletes.
Already this season we have seen coach Ott lean on his veterans to win games, and Livers fits that bill. It is no surprise to see him getting run as soon as he is available again, and this is sure to continue for the rest of the campaign.