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Suns lean on potential future cornerstones to thwart Raptors
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- Suns lean on potential future cornerstones to thwart Raptors
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PHOENIX– A convincing 120-98 Phoenix Suns win over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday might've shown the future cornerstones with the bundle of young players the franchise has.
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Guys like Khaman Maluach , Rasheer Fleming, and Ryan Dunn have been at the forefront. While Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks, and Jalen Green receive the limelight, the previous three made their mark.
Whether it is Dunn's growing confidence for the Suns , or Fleming gaining the respect of the locker room, or Maluach's oozing potential, options look endless.
During Sunday's win, Dunn had 12 points and three steals while connecting on five of his eight shots. Meanwhile, Maluach had seven points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes, with a +19 in the box score.
Considering the myriad of injuries and the lackluster performance 24 hours prior, the youth movement showed itself again. It's something Dunn hopes that extends beyond the season.
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"I love it. Playing with those two, they give a lot of life and youthful life," Dunn said, when asked about the Suns' rookies postgame. They stepped up a lot from the start of the season till now… Man Man, he's coming in here, confident, talking a lot, shooting, you have the size and athleticism.
"I think it's kind of scary, me and him on the floor together, defensively… I hope we can grow and get better through our careers here."
Khaman Maluach, Ryan Dunn, Rasheer Fleming are the Suns future cornerstones
Maluach's playing time has slowly increased since after the trade deadline. Phoenix dealt Nick Richards and Nigel Hayes-Davis, opening more room in the front court.
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Combining that with a sudden Mark Williams injury provided the ultimate mix for the former Duke center to make an impression. Whether or not the Suns wanted to play Maluach this quickly, there wasn't an option.
Regardless, they ended up trusting the potential, even through some of the growing pains.
Sunday's game was a small sample as to what a potential front court with Dunn, Fleming, and Maluach could look like, which intrigues the latter .
"It's really fun because I see the work they put in," Maluach explained, when asked about playing with Dunn and Fleming. I see how many hours they put in at the gym.
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"I've seen how much they've got better from the first time I saw them in the summer league. It's just been a process for all of us, and we're really trusting the process and just keep on getting better each and every day."
Related: Devin Booker gets 100% on Suns' playoff seeding chase
Related: Jalen Green thought Suns should've 'killed' Bucks in close loss
