Ex-Suns Holmes, Oubre Jr. are excelling
Pair tops list of recent former Phoenix players
Stephen Curry had the big 41-point night, but Kelly Oubre Jr. capped Golden State’s 122-121 comeback win Tuesday night over Milwaukee by hitting two free throws with 7.7 seconds left.
“Kelly was huge for us,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said as Oubre answered two 3s from Jrue Holiday with two of his own to keep Golden State within seven late in the fourth.
Oubre finished with 19 points, going 4of-8 from 3, six rebounds and two steals.
“Those two 3s were big. They kept us in it and those two free throws, those are tough,” Kerr later said. “Game on the line. It’s not easy being up there. So he knocked them down and he took on a big defensive role as well throughout the night. Great night for Kelly.”
Back in mid-January, The Republic looked at how 12 former Phoenix Suns from the previous two seasons were playing during the first half of this NBAshortened, 72-game season that began late December of last year.
Considering Trevor Ariza (Oklahoma City) hadn’t played at the time, Ty Jerome (OKC) was out with an ankle injury, Jalen Lecque (Indiana), Jared Harper (New York) and Tyler Johnson (Brooklyn) had hardly played and T.J. Warren (Indiana) was out with a stress fracture, we ranked the remaining 6 former Suns. 1 Richaun Holmes (Sacramento). 2 De’Anthony Melton (Memphis). 3 Kelly Oubre Jr. (Golden State). 4 Josh Jackson (Detroit).
5 Ricky Rubio (Minnesota).
6 Aron Baynes (Toronto).
With about six weeks remaining in the regular season, The Republic revisited the list, but first had to narrow down the field again.
Warren is unfortunately out for the season with that stress fracture as he had surgery Jan. 5. He only played four games this season after putting up career-high numbers last season fueled by a restart eruption in the Orlando bubble.
Last month, Oklahoma City traded Ariza to Miami where the veteran forward is averaging 7.1 points in his first nine games with the Heat. Ariza’s shooting a poor percentage from the field overall (33.8%) and from 3 (28.9%), but he has been decent considering he hadn’t played in a little more than a year.
The Pacers waived Lecque last month as the second-year player saw action in just four games this season. Jared Harper earned first-team All-G League in its Orlando Bubble, but he too has only played four NBA games this season for the Knicks (25-26), who are seventh in the
East.
Johnson has recently been sidelined with discomfort of his right knee and will under a two to three-week period of rehabilitating and strengthening it. Playing 31 games so far this season for Brooklyn (35-16), Johnson has started twice with one of those coming in a comeback win in Phoenix as he scored a season-high 17. So let’s rank the remaining seven. No change at the top, but there’s some movement after that.
1. Richaun Holmes (Sacramento Kings)
2020-21 stats (47 games): 14.2 ppg., 64.1% FG, 80% FT, 9.0 rpg., 1.7 bpg. (Career high in bold).
Vs. Suns this season (2 games): Avg. 9.5 ppg., 60% FG, 10 rpg. 1 total block.
Final regular-season matchup: April 15 in Phoenix (Series tied 1-1).
Holmes continues to have a career season as he averaged 17.4 points and 11.1 rebounds in March. The Kings (22-29) are just two games behind Golden State for that 10th spot in the play-in tournament.
They’ve underachieved as a team, but Holmes has been steady.
2. Kelly Oubre Jr. (Golden State Warriors)
2020-21 stats (48 games) 15 ppg., 43.6% FG, 30.5% 3PT, 69% FT, 6 rpg).
Vs. Suns this season (1 game): four points (1-of-11 shooting, 0-of-5 from 3), four rebounds.
Final regular-season matchup: May 11 at Golden State (Phoenix leads series, 2-0).
Oubre once again went through a season with his name in the middle of trade talks, but the trade deadline passed with him still in Golden State. His shooting has been inconsistent, but Oubre followed a double-double effort of 20 points and 11 rebounds in a loss to Atlanta with 19 points in Tuesday’s comeback win.
While Curry has been simply magnificent after playing only five games last season due to injury, Oubre’s play will factor into whether the Warriors (24-27) make the playoffs.
3. De’Anthony Melton (Memphis Grizzlies)
2020-21 stats (35 games): 10.1 ppg., 48% FG, 45.3% 3PT, 77.1% FT, 3.2 rpg., 2.7 apg. (Career high in bold).
Vs. Suns this season (2 games): 6.5 ppg., 31.6% FG, 11.1% 3PT, 4.5 rpg., 2 apg.
Final regular-season matchup: Suns won season series, 2-1.
Melton missed Tuesday’s win at Miami with a sore leg after posting back-toback 14-point scoring efforts in wins over Minnesota and Philadelphia. The thirdyear guard has been having a career season after signing a four-year, $35-million deal in the offseason.
The Grizzlies (25-23) have won three in a row going into Wednesday’s game at Atlanta and are eighth in the West. They could be an extremely dangerous firstround matchup that might end up being against Phoenix.
4. Josh Jackson (Detroit Pistons)
2020-21 stats (45 games): 12.8 ppg., 42% FG, 28.9% 3PT, 71.9% FT, 4.1 rpg., 2.1 apg. (Career high in bold).
Vs. Suns this season (2 games): 8 ppg., 23.8% FG, 30% 3PT, 50% FT, 2.5 rpg., 2.5 apg.
Final regular-season matchup: Split season series, 1-1.
Like Oubre, Jackson has been inconsistent.
Recent case in point. He scores a season-high 31 on 13-of-21 shooting (4-of-7 from 3) in 29 minutes in leading Detroit to a 120-91 win April 1 over Washington.
Next night? Five points on 2-of-9 shooting in an embarrassing 125-81 loss to New York.
Jackson followed that up with a 14point performance as Detroit topped Oklahoma City by 24 only to manage just seven in Tuesday’s 134-119 defeat at Denver in the second of a road back-to-back.
The Pistons (15-36) are clearly in a rebuild as they have the worst record in the East, but Jackson keeps showing flashes of being that dynamic talent Phoenix took fourth overall out of Kansas in 2017.
Maybe he’s found a home in his hometown where he can find that consistency.
5. Ty Jerome (OKC Thunder)
2020-21 stats (17 games): 9.4 ppg., 42.9% FG, 41% 3PT, 54.5% FT, 3.1 rpg., 3.6 apg. (Career high in bold).
Vs. Suns this season (1 game): 5 points (2-of-11 shooting, 1-of-7 from 3), two rebounds, three assists.
Final regular-season matchup: May 2 at Oklahoma City (Series tied, 1-1).
Like his rookie season in Phoenix, Jerome injured his ankle in training camp. He once again spent time in the G League, but Jerome is having a career year in his second NBA season.
He shot 46.6% from 3 in March in averaging 9.5 points a game in the month. The only player left from the Chris Paul trade in Oklahoma City, Jerome is showing he can hold his own in the league.
6. Ricky Rubio (Minnesota Timberwolves)
2020-21 stats (47 games): 8.3 ppg., 38.3% FG, 28.5% 3PT, 85.1% FT, 3.1 rpg., 6.8 apg.
Vs. Suns this season (3 games): 11 ppg., 43.5% FG, 30% 3PT, 90.9% FT, 2.7 rpg., 7 apg., 2.0 spg.
Final regular-season matchup: Suns won season series, 2-1.
Out of the four players Phoenix traded to acquire Paul, it impacted Rubio the most.
Rubio returned to the team he started his NBA career with, but the Timberwolves ended up firing their coach and his friend, Ryan Saunders and have dealt with injuries and COVID-19 all season.
The Timberwolves (13-38) have the league’s worst record, but Rubio has been a stabilizer. The veteran point guard had a decent stretch of play in March in averaging 10.2 points last month, but he hasn’t been nearly as productive as he was in his year with Phoenix last season.
7. Aron Baynes (Toronto Raptors)
2020-21 stats (47 games) 5.8 ppg., 42.3% FG, 23.3% 3PT, 73% FT, 5.1 rpg.
Vs. Suns this season (2 games): 3.0 ppg., 33.3% FG, 4.5 rpg.
Final regular-season matchup: Suns won season series, 2-0.
This hasn’t worked out the way the Raptors and Baynes thought it would after the two agreed to a two-year, $14.3million deal for the unrestricted free agent after the reserve big racked up career numbers in his one season in Phoenix last year.
He’s gone stretches without playing, but Baynes is shooting 50% from the field in his three games in April. The Raptors (20-31) are 11th in the East, but just two games out of that 10th play-in spot currently being held by Chicago.
Baynes could play a key role down the stretch of a Toronto playoff push.