Suns Hit Panic Button With Chaotic New Starting Lineup
The Phoenix Suns are shaking up their starting five by inserting rookie Khaman Maluach alongside Devin Booker, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, and Miles Bridges ahead of Monday's game against the Warriors.
HotTakes Editorial TeamUpdated 1 min read
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A 1-3 start will make a coach do crazy things, but the Phoenix Suns' latest starting five looks like a 2K MyLeague simulation that accidentally auto-generated the rotation.
According to Underdog NBA, head coach Jordan Ott is rolling out Devin Booker, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Miles Bridges, and rookie Khaman Maluach on Monday night.
"Lineup alert: Suns will start Booker, Green, Brooks, Bridges, Maluach on Monday."
This is the kind of lineup you throw at the wall when your defense is entirely theoretical. Phoenix is currently sitting at the bottom of the league with a 126.3 defensive rating, which is a polite way of saying they make turnstiles look like elite rim protectors. They just surrendered 127 points in a loss to the Denver Nuggets, so Ott is clearly tired of watching his team get cooked.
Throwing Maluach into the fire is the real wild card here. The rookie center is getting a massive promotion to try and plug a leaky paint, but he has to share the floor with a backcourt pairing of Booker and Green that fans have already been questioning all season.
For the prop market, this rotation shuffle is pure chaos. Booker is pacing the team with 22.3 points per game, but trying to project usage rates when you add Green, Brooks, and Bridges to the same starting unit requires a crystal ball and a bottle of aspirin. There are only so many shots to go around, and at least three of these guys think they are the primary option.
We will find out if this desperate reshuffle actually works when the Suns take on the Golden State Warriors on Monday. If they get run out of the gym again, Ott might have to start pulling guys from the lower bowl just to find a combination that can get a single stop.
Key stats
Phoenix Suns defensive rating: 126.3 (30th in the NBA)
Devin Booker points per game: 22.3
Phoenix Suns record: 1-3
What's next
The Suns will test this new starting five against the Golden State Warriors on Monday night to see if it can fix their defensive woes.

Key stats



