{"id":461456,"date":"2025-12-08T17:06:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T17:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/461456\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T17:06:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T17:06:00","slug":"diamonds-in-the-rough-how-the-suns-are-winning-on-the-margins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/461456\/","title":{"rendered":"Diamonds in the rough: How the Suns are winning on the margins"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Phoenix Suns have been rewarded for their resourcefulness in filling the back end of their roster.<\/p>\n

It turns out, the Collin Gillespie signing was a home run. He spent brief time in the G League a season ago, patiently waiting behind guards he shouldn\u2019t have been buried behind on the depth chart in the first place. In year two, he has taken advantage of his opportunity and then some.<\/p>\n

Then, you have Jordan Goodwin. A waiver claim win. He was shipped out a couple of years back when the Suns cleared house of some of the one-year rentals they took fliers on.<\/p>\n

Like Gillespie, Goodwin has taken his opportunity and run with it to quickly become a staple in the Suns\u2019 rotation after the Lakers let him go. Phoenix can send a thank-you card to Los Angeles for waiving him.<\/p>\n

Together, that duo (Gillespie & Goodwin) is making an impact when they share the court with one another.<\/p>\n

They have a plus-11.3 net rating in 479 possessions so far this season.<\/p>\n

It may be too early for a victory lap on Jamaree Bouyea, but in what we\u2019ve seen during his brief time here, he\u2019s been a hit. It\u2019s tough to ask for more from someone you take a two-way flier on.<\/p>\n

We were all collectively like \u201cuhh, what?\u201d when Ott checked him into the game early in his first career game for the Phoenix Suns, but he quickly looked like a genius for the move. Each game, he seems to grow more and more confident in his role.<\/p>\n

Bouyea scored a career-high 18 points in 18 minutes in Friday\u2019s loss to Houston. He should continue to get an opportunity off the bench as long as Devin Booker and Jalen Green are sidelined.<\/p>\n

Bouyea possesses a high level of multi-level scoring and ball-handling with plus burst and athleticism. Despite being undersized, he competes defensively and is not afraid to mix it up against bigger wings. Currently on a two-way contract, Bouyea is making a real case for a full-time roster spot. Another hungry, tough dude with something to prove.<\/p>\n

Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin, and Jamaree Bouyea were all overlooked by their previous teams, and the Suns saw something in them. Proving someone wrong is the best motivation. Not everyone gets that opportunity in this cutthroat league. These guys have, and it\u2019s why the Suns are who they are early on from an identity standpoint.<\/p>\n

These three in the picture below tell it all. All different situations, but they have come together to provide meaningful, impactful minutes and help change the culture in Phoenix.<\/p>\n

\"LOS<\/a><\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 1: Jordan Goodwin #23 and Jamaree Bouyea #17 of the Phoenix Suns high five during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on December 1, 2025 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and\/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi\/NBAE via Getty Images) NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

That fuel has revamped the Suns\u2019 guard rotation that we didn\u2019t think would need this much help this early. Jalen Green\u2019s hamstring issue, combined with Grayson Allen\u2019s never-ending bruise, then illness, and now Devin Booker\u2019s groin injury\u2026 the injury bug has hit Phoenix hard in the guard department.<\/p>\n

Phoenix\u2019s duo of Devin Booker and Jalen Green is needed desperately in the grand scheme of things, but it is refreshing to have a guard unit as deep as this Suns team is. Grayson Allen, along with the aforementioned trio, has been a steadying force in a shaky, injury-filled season for the Suns.<\/p>\n

Jordan Ott and company have repeated the \u201cnext man up\u201d mantra, and while it\u2019s generally a common and overused phrase in sports, they\u2019ve backed that talk up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Phoenix Suns have been rewarded for their resourcefulness in filling the back end of their roster. It…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448389,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3791],"tags":[7,6,2065,472,4045,604,4147],"class_list":{"0":"post-461456","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix-suns","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-nba","10":"tag-phoenix","11":"tag-phoenix-suns","12":"tag-phoenixsuns","13":"tag-suns","14":"tag-suns-analysis"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115685049404646778","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461456\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}