The Phoenix Suns enjoyed their most impressive win of the season over the San Antonio Spurs to make it back-to-back wins, and forward Ryan Dunn was integral to the victory. His brilliant defending on Victor Wembanyama - as well as going 3-of-4 from deep - one of they key reasons the Suns pulled out what was an improbable victory.
Phoenix now has a dilemma on its hands - as when they are fully healthy - Dunn would appear to be the player who is going to have to be moved to the bench. You can't play him, Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green and Devin Booker, that lineup is too small and doesn't have enough on both ends of the court to be competitive each night.
Dunn's inconsistencies holding him back from breaking out.
We've been here with Dunn before though, and it is likely he is once again about to follow up his best performance of the season against San Antonio, with a number of listless displays. His rookie campaign featured a strong dose of that, while this season outside of the Spurs game there hadn't been one notable performance from him.
This also extends to his 3-point shooting which on its night can look like it is going in every time, yet he's so far converting only 32 percent of his 3.6 attempts. Both of those numbers identical to last season, a worrying trend as it had been hoped an offseason spent working on his jumper would have brought better results already.
The inability of Dunn to kick on from these occasional brilliant performances is why he doesn't have a starting spot locked down, and until that happens the Mikal Bridges comparisons that had been brought up by some will continue to be wide of the mark. The Suns got themselves a good one in Dunn - he's already a solid rotation player - but he's so close to being a whole lot more.
Luckily for Dunn, he has a teammate in Collin Gillespie who is showing him exactly how to seize his opportunity. The backup point guard is looking like a Most Improved Player candidate out there right now, so much so that there have been some calls for him to start alongside Booker. That would again likely mean Dunn dropping to the bench, which gives you an idea of his true standing in The Valley.
Scoring 10 points each night and generally being an excellent defender will get him some run with this group, and it is also worth noting that the Suns have been a much better defensive unit since Brooks went out injured and with Dunn in the lineup. If he can bring more consistency to his game however, then Phoenix will have their Mikal Bridges 2.0 on this roster.