Despite the wealth of talent on their roster, the Phoenix Suns are not in the playoff picture. They can still make the play-in tournament with eight games left in the schedule. However, Kevin Durant and the rest of the lineup cannot afford to lose half of these games.
Fans will point to Bradley Beal’s disappointing season as the primary reason for their struggles this season. However, these struggles allowed other players in the roster to step up in Mike Budenholzer’s desperation to find a winning formula.
The biggest beneficiary for the team’s struggles is Collin Gillespie. The second-year player is slowly but surely making his impact felt on the roster, which eventually allowed him to start the past six games for the Suns.
His latest performance for Phoenix saw Gillespie put up a record-setting night, which had Durant singing praises about his recent performances.
Kevin Durant praises Collin Gillespie’s recent performance for the Phoenix Suns
The Suns had a rough game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Every starter for the Wolves scored in double digits as they took down the visiting Suns, 109-124.
While Phoenix struggled to put points on the board, Gillespie was the only other player wearing purple who had a terrific night. He was the second-best scorer behind Durant, ending the game with 22 points on an efficient 9-for-11 shooting.
Durant didn’t hold back in praising Gillespie for his efforts in the last six games.
Per ClutchPoints’ Hayden Cilley:
“I’m always happy to see guys come into the league and reach their career highs in a start, and get an opportunity to play their game,” Durant said.
“Collin was great tonight. Wish we could’ve got a win for him. That would’ve been even better, but it’s a good stepping stone. Build more confidence.”
Gillespie is averaging 4.7 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists this season, but he was at the edge of the rotation until mid-January. He scored double digits in two of the six games he started.
While it’s unlikely that he’lll finish the season in double digits, fans hope that he’ll use his recent run of form as a springboard to have a breakout third season.
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