Khaman Maluach Gets the Friday Start for the Suns

The Phoenix Suns are officially handing the keys to the frontcourt to the new guy. According to coach Ott, Khaman Maluach is getting the starting nod for Friday's game.

If you play daily fantasy or stare at player prop totals until your eyes bleed, this is the exact kind of late-week alert that forces you to rebuild your entire lineup. A 7-foot-1, 250-pound center suddenly getting starter minutes is the ultimate wild card.

"Lineup alert: Khaman Maluach will start Friday, per coach Ott."

Maluach has been hovering around 7.7 points and 7.3 rebounds in his recent run of games. Those are not exactly numbers that demand a max contract, but they are highly efficient for a guy who is still figuring out where the arena parking lot is.

Throwing a young big man from South Sudan into the starting five on a Friday night is a classic sink-or-swim move. It is the NBA equivalent of tossing someone the keys to a forklift and saying you will figure it out. The Suns need a spark, and apparently, the answer is just putting the largest human available on the floor for the opening tip.

We will see exactly how long his leash is once the ball goes up. If he can protect the rim and grab a few easy boards, he might just mess around and keep the job. If not, expect the rotation to look like a blender again by Sunday.