{"id":716415,"date":"2026-04-23T04:48:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T04:48:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/716415\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T04:48:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T04:48:25","slug":"phoenix-suns-fans-frustrated-with-one-starter-in-first-half-of-game-2-vs-thunder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/716415\/","title":{"rendered":"Phoenix Suns fans frustrated with one starter in first half of Game 2 vs Thunder"},"content":{"rendered":"

OKLAHOMA CITY \u2013 After the first half of Game 2 of the first round between the Phoenix Suns and the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a>, Suns fans reacted on social media to one Phoenix starter and certain mistakes made in the first half.<\/p>\n

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Apr 17, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix forward Ighodaro (right) argues with Dillon Brooks against the Golden State Warriors during the second half in the play-in rounds of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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Game 2 didn\u2019t feel like a repeat; it felt like a response. The Suns matched intensity, contested everything, and turned the pace into a fight. That\u2019s what made the spotlight on Oso Ighodaro impossible to ignore. This isn\u2019t about one missed rotation or a single blown assignment. It\u2019s about compounding moments. Filling in for the injured Mark Williams<\/a>, Ighodaro had a clear assignment of protecting the rim and staying disciplined. Instead, the Thunder repeatedly targeted him in screening actions, forcing hesitation that cracked Phoenix\u2019s structure.<\/p>\n

Suns fans call out Oso Ighodaro on social media:<\/p>\n

Playoff basketball compresses time. Every possession feels heavier, and every mistake echoes louder. Fans didn\u2019t just react; they voiced their frustrations loudly on social media. Posts were also flooded with calls to play rookie center Khaman<\/a> Maluach.<\/p>\n

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Apr 19, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> (2) drives past Phoenix forward Ighodaro (11) in the second half during game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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Coaches preach trust, but postseason basketball demands adaptability. Phoenix Suns HC Jordan Ott now faces a defining decision of doubling down on a young player learning in real time or pivoting to a lineup that steadies the moment. For Suns fans, the takeaway is clear as effort isn\u2019t enough without execution. For the Suns, the bigger picture looms as their playoff contention window could close fast if they go down 0-2 to the Thunder. Game 2 isn\u2019t just about tying a series. It was a test of how quickly a team can adjust when opportunity collides with urgency.<\/p>\n

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Apr 19, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) blocks a shot by Phoenix forward Ighodaro (11) in the second quarter during game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, and exclusive content. SIGN UP HERE to unlock our premium content!*Reporter Benjamin Bliklen covers the Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona Cardinals, and Phoenix Suns for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @BenBliklen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OKLAHOMA CITY \u2013 After the first half of Game 2 of the first round between the Phoenix Suns…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":716416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[382,15482,17992,7,1195,164,1338,4164,1011,56639,6,11,475,179,11328,2065,472,209,6445,3209],"class_list":{"0":"post-716415","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba-playoffs","8":"tag-arizona","9":"tag-arizona-cardinals","10":"tag-arizona-diamondbacks","11":"tag-basketball","12":"tag-dillon-brooks","13":"tag-golden-state-warriors","14":"tag-khaman","15":"tag-mandatory-credit","16":"tag-mark-williams","17":"tag-mortgage-matchup-center","18":"tag-nba","19":"tag-nba-playoffs","20":"tag-oklahoma-city","21":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","22":"tag-oso-ighodaro","23":"tag-phoenix","24":"tag-phoenix-suns","25":"tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander","26":"tag-the-suns","27":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116452217287356137","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716415","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=716415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/716416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=716415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=716415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=716415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}