The Phoenix Suns may have won 49 games last season, but they have revamped their roster ahead of the 2024-25 campaign. Not only that, but they went and got a new head coach in Mike Budenholzer, who is expected to wring even more offensive juice out of their three All-Star players.
Already we have examined who we think will start for the Suns opening night of the new season, and there were a couple of surprises in there. After all, you don't bring in point guard Tyus Jones during the summer and bring him off the bench. You want him in there from the start.
But a much more interesting exercise is predicting who the Suns' bench unit will be.
Obviously this won't just be five players - the Suns have two rookies who will get some minutes for example - but we're going to try and predict who the most common five bench guys are going to be. Which is why you won't see Bol Bol here for example, as he'll begin the season getting spot minutes and will have his work cut out trying to turn that into a steady gig off the bench.
Center - Mason Plumlee
Working from the inside out, and this position is going to be Mason Plumlee's all season long. The departure of Drew Eubanks may have been seen as a negative in the offseason - although most Suns fans were through with the experience of him as backup - but Plumlee is definitely an upgrade.
He may be 34-years-old, but there's still some underrated athleticism in those legs. Plumlee also has nice handles for a big guy, and it is for that reason that he's sure to excel in coach Budenholzer's offensive schemes. Starting center Jusuf Nurkic is known for his own soft hands and passing, and Plumee ensures the drop off isn't as significant in that area when he checks into the game.
He's also a more imposing figure than Eubanks - and in some ways than Nurkic - and this will be crucial throughout the season. In the playoffs last year, the Suns were bullied inside by Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid and even Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Plumlee at least gives Nurkic some help in that regard, although rookie Oso Ighodaro may fancy himself as another viable option as the season progresses. All in all this is an easy one, and Plumlee will be the anchor in the middle which the second unit rotates around.