Suns Center Makes Feelings Clear on Battle for Starting Job

The Phoenix Suns are now fully immersed in preseason play following Monday's loss to the Detroit Pistons.

One of the biggest pieces of intrigue heading into the game was how the center position would be handled. The labrum injury to Mark Williams threw a wrench into the group that isn't incredibly deep to begin with. 

However, second-year lottery pick Khaman Maluach and third-year Arizona native Oso Ighodaro are more than worthy to fill in as starting players.

Ighodaro touched upon the conversation as to who should start following Monday's game with Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic.

"Me and Man-Man have been pushing each other all summer. Both have gotten a lot better. Whoever starts, whoever doesn't, we'll come in and impact the game," Ighodaro said.

There were signs pointing towards Ighodaro, 24, receiving the upper hand in the battle to start in the opening game. This includes the Marquette alum taking first-team reps during the opening week of training camp, as well as finishing last season with 24 starts under his belt.

This very much seems to be an "iron sharpens iron" situation, as there are areas that each excel in that they can leverage to help the other out. 

Ighodaro's raw statistical output over 14:09 on the court wasn't mind-blowing, but his impact was evident. There's signs that point to the 6'10" talent improving as a rebounder, while also serving as a valiant connector as a passer on the high block. The activity that Ighodaro displays on defense doesn't always reflect on the box score either, but it's clear in the eye test.

As far as Maluach goes, the rising star put an encouraging performance together himself. The Duke product went 3-5 from the floor, showed an incredibly active motor on the low block, and made an impact defensively to put a bow on it all. 

There are areas the 7-footer must work on (including in shooting free throws), but it's becoming more apparent by the day that he is ready to receive in-game reps at the NBA level.

All in all, it wouldn't come as a surprise if both Ighodaro and Maluach receive starts this season. It also wouldn't be shocking to see both bigs take late-minute reps depending on game-flow and situational basketball. The questions come down to health, fit with differing personnel groupings, and the progression that each players show over the 82 game grind of a season. 

Both Ighodaro and Maluach will likely return to game action on Wednesday night against the Chicago Bulls.