THE FLATS – Josh Okogie becomes the Suns’ fifth starter for now after Kevin Durant joins the team … Jose Alvarado out with stress reaction in his foot, but still making local appearances … Thaddeus Young finds fun fighting for a plahyoff spot … more in this week’s #ProJackets Report.
*****
OKOGIE GETS NOD AS SUNS’ FIFTH STARTER
The answer, at least for Wednesday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets, has come.
Fifth-year wing Josh Okogie will be the Phoenix Suns’ fifth starter alongside Deandre Ayton, Devin Booker, Chris Paul and the debuting Kevin Durant.
The spot was one of the biggest discussion points to come out of the blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets on Feb. 8. Both Okogie and Torrey Craig had a case for the spot and had been starting in place of the previously injured Durant, and in place of the traded Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson.
Okogie is playing the best basketball of his career. The minimum signing this offseason came to Phoenix after four years with the Minnesota Timberwolves, unable to carve out a consistent role. In the six games Durant missed since the deal, Okogie has averaged 18.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.2 turnovers, 2.0 steals and 0.2 blocks per game while shooting 53.4% from the field, 48.6% at three-point range and 71.4% for free throws. The 6-foot-4 wing who was a very poor shooter in Minnesota has been on fire with triples since the turn of the new year, bumping his season percentage all the way up to 34.5%.
— Josh Okogie (@CallMe_NonStop) March 9, 2023
Josh Okogie 🇳🇬 is playing the best basketball of his career. The 5th- year wing Okogie has been on fire with triples since the turn of the new year, bumping his season percentage all the way up to 34.5%. Last night against the Bulls he dropped 25 to lead the Suns to a 125-104 win pic.twitter.com/k3hUEspgUa
— NBA Africa (@NBA_Africa) March 4, 2023
*****
IS JOSH OKOGIE THE FINAL PIECE OF THE SUNS’ PUZZLE?
The Phoenix Suns’ blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant was a no-brainer for a team in their position, and one they’d surely make a thousand times over.
But the trade still posed some lingering questions and lineup challenges … Their answer, to this point, has been to plug in Josh Okogie, the fifth-year energizer who’s re-emerged with the Suns after falling out of the Timberwolves’ rotation last year. He hadn’t started a single game this season before the trade, but he’s started all nine games since.
Okogie is one of the NBA’s very best defenders, an on-ball hellhound with quick and accurate hands, elite lateral speed, tremendous instincts, and great timing on shot contests. It makes sense that coach Monty Williams and his staff saw Okogie as a fit next to Durant, Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and Deandre Ayton. With that quartet around him, the bar for his offense is lower now than it ever was in Minnesota, and lower than it would be on almost any other team. He’s protected, in a way, by all the offensive talent around him, the same way a weak defender can be surrounded and insulated by a strong defensive infrastructure. Meanwhile, his athleticism and boundless energy provide a shot in the arm for an oldish, slowish group, and he does things on defense that no other Sun is capable of.
WHAT A BLOCK BY JOSH OKOGIE ❌
— Suns Nation (@SunsNationCP) March 9, 2023
*****
ALVARADO MAKING APPEARANCE AT LOCAL PIZZA RESTAURANT
New Orleans Pelicans fans will have an opportunity to meet one of the team’s most exciting players at the Fat Boy’s Pizza Mandeville location. Point guard Jose Alvarado, the MVP of the recent NBA Rising Stars Game after hitting the game-winning shot, will sign memorabilia, take photos and raffle off an autographed game jersey.
“It is truly a thrill to partner with a special young man,” Vice-President of Operations Casey Biehl says. “Jose Alvarado is obviously a tenacious and a very talented basketball player, but his humility and connectivity are the reasons why he is such a great match for Fat Boy’s and this guest experience. We hope the Northshore community is equally as excited.”
The fan event will take place on Friday, March 10 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. at Fat Boy’s Pizza in Mandeville, located at 1200 W. Causeway Approach.
The Pelicans announced Jose Alvarado has a stress reaction in his right tibia. He will be reevaluated in three weeks. Zion Williamson (hamstring) is progressing; further updates will be provided next week following medical imaging.
Pelicans in the building ‼️
Jose Alvarado gave Trey Murphy III the assist on his first dunk 👀#ATTSlamDunk x #StateFarmSaturday
📺: Live on TNT pic.twitter.com/56OVvhdmHu— NBA (@NBA) February 19, 2023
*****
THAD YOUNG FINDS FUN FIGHTING FOR A PLAYOFF SPOT
The games take on an added significance for the Raptors these days, all with a heightened sense of importance and intensity because of what’s at stake in the final push to a possible NBA playoff spot. The pressure can crack some players while others will rise to the moment. The stress is real.
But Thad Young considers the idea of stress and, with the wisdom that comes from a decade and a half in the league, dismisses it.
“It’s always fun when you have something to fight for,” the 34-year-old said Wednesday.
Young and the Raptors have something to fight for over the final 16 games of the season, which included a Wednesday night game here against the Los Angeles Clippers. They are in a fight with Atlanta, Washington and Chicago for the bare minimum that will make the season a bit better: a spot in the play-in portion of the season.
*****
