Of course I take a night off from basketball while the Phoenix Suns are in between games, and I think I am going to spend my Wednesday night playing with the dog, taking out the trash, and throwing a movie on. My choice? Two for the Money. Never seen it before. Probably never watching it again.
You know what I should have been watching? The Valley Suns. Why? because Khaman Maluach and Rasheer Fleming were both playing. I do not know how it happened, but I missed it. And of course, I missed great games. Now I have to go hunt them down and watch every minute.
I have been walking you through quarter-by-quarter looks at Khaman Maluach with the G League affiliate as the rookie stacks reps and grows his game. Tonight, both he and Rasheer Fleming got that runway. And from everything I have seen so far, neither one of them disappointed.
Maluach played 35 minutes and poured in 27 points on 10-of-14 from the field. Sure, he missed his only shot from deep, but he ripped down 15 rebounds, six of them on the offensive end. He swatted four shots. He chipped in one assist.
And he was not alone out there.
Rasheer Fleming logged 43 minutes and went 11-of-18 from the field, including 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. He matched Maluach with 27 points. He pulled down 13 rebounds, six on the offensive glass. He added three steals and two assists. The real separator? Each of them had only one turnover.
Development is never a straight line. It moves in waves. And on a night when the Valley Suns picked up their first win in 8 tries this season, this felt like a step forward. These rookies are getting real minutes. They are getting comfortable.
This is the developmental plan breathing in real time. This is what it is supposed to look like.