Prior to getting decimated by injuries, the Phoenix Suns looked like a playoff team thanks to the play of the veterans on their roster.
This meant the trio of rookies added during the offseason were being used sparingly, and now that they are in the rotation out of necessity it has become obvious why that was the case.
Suns can't win games and make playoffs with rookies playing big minutes
Head coach Jordan Ott having been proven right for sending Khaman Maluach, Rasheer Fleming and Koby Brea to the G League to get some reps.
Some fans were unhappy with this lack of youth movement in The Valley, the Suns were supposed to lose loads of games and rework their roster around younger players after all.
But now that this is happening anyway thanks to the unfortunate injuries they have suffered, can those same fans honestly say they are having a good time?
This is a great matchup for Rasheer Fleming to get valuable defensive reps.
— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) February 25, 2026
Watch him here, in the gap as Pritchard drives, then his quick recovery as Walsh attacks his right foot on the aggressive closeout. Rook has the defensive tools to be great pic.twitter.com/AhEPBClZNl
Coach Ott was right to lean into Grayson Allen, Collin Gillespie and even the quietly consistent Royce O'Neale, veterans who know what it takes to win close basketball games.
Contrast that with the ugly 97-81 home loss at the hands of the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, who should actually be an inspiration thanks to the star players they are missing but which has not slowed them down.
Fleming played 21 minutes while Brea and Maluach managed six each, all of which came off the bench, and they looked and played exactly how you would expect them to.
It is clear Fleming plugs the biggest hole in terms of play style and body type with Dillon Brooks out of the equation, but veteran Derrick White had a field day against them to the tune of 22 points.
With the Suns running out of bodies these guys are going to get more run, and perhaps the only mistake coach Ott made here was not introducing them into the back end of the rotation earlier in the campaign.
Now they are being thrown in at the deep end, at a time when Phoenix is still pushing for the playoffs. Based on what we have seen since the All-Star break, they are not going to make it.
But you can't blame a first year head coach in Ott for going with the older heads to begin his time with the franchise, and it has likely bought him a longer runway to figure things out.
You can't win right away with kids, and the Suns are finding that out the hard way as they scramble to get their best players back on the court.