If you were looking for your hoops fix early Sunday, then chances are you checked out Game 7 between the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic.
Hardly a classic as Detroit came from 3-1 down in the series to advance, but there was a valuable lesson for the Phoenix Suns in the victory.
Suns need a Daniss Jenkins type to advance in future
Earlier this season we urged the front office to pursue this Pistons player, but Daniss Jenkins just proved in Game 7 that he is the kind of player the Suns desperately need to take the next step.
A role player who can come off the bench and provide the kind of spark on both ends of the court that affords Devin Booker (or in the Pistons' case Cade Cunningham) those couple of minutes to catch their breath.
Jenkins had 16 points off the bench in his team's win, but there was one possession where he doubled Paolo Banchero, made it back to the open shooter to contest a 3-pointer and then was in position to collect the rebound.
The Suns had their version of this during the regular season in Collin Gillespie, but he went cold at the worst possible time in the playoffs.
It is also fair to point out that Jenkins would not have been nearly as successful against the Oklahoma City Thunder, who can pick even small flaws in a roster and expose them.
That is what happened to Gillespie. Too small to guard their bigger players and not enough of a difference-maker offensively to trouble the Thunder.
But it is not like Jenkins had everything his own way either. He gives up a ton of size to both Banchero and Desmond Bane, while Anthony Black and Jalen Suggs are more physical than he is.
Yet he continued to make the right plays on both ends and hit the shots that he was supposed to, a luxury the Suns did not have in their sweep at the hands of the Thunder.
Gillespie has proven he may not be that guy (although he should still be brought back), while Grayson Allen is never healthy when they need him.
Perhaps Aaron Gordon is the answer, although getting him to Phoenix looks extremely difficult. Point is you need a deep roster and unexpected heroes to compete, and the Suns had neither this year.
They have managed to fill out their roster around the fringes with talented guys who represent real value for money.
Finding a player like Jenkins who wasn't drafted to then help them win a Game 7 is the next step in that process, and it begins this summer.
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