Through 33 games in the 2024-25 season, the Phoenix Suns are 15-18. The team is 3-7 in their last 10 and is on a four-game losing streak. On Saturday, the Suns lost 126-108 on the road to the Pacers. NBA insider Chris Haynes reported on Sunday that Phoenix will be making changes to the starting lineup.
Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic will come off the bench for Phoenix on Monday night vs. the 76ers. This is the first time since the 2015-16 season that Beal will not start a game. For Nurkic, he hasn’t come off the bench since the 2016-17 season. First-year Suns head coach Mike Budenzolher is making the difficult decision to bench two veteran players. We’ll see what that does for a Suns team that has been struggling since the start of December.
Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic will come off the bench for the Suns on Monday
Sources: In midst of 4-game losing streak and tension in locker room, Phoenix expected to make drastic change by removing Bradley Beal, Jusuf Nurkic from starting lineup beginning Monday at Philadelphia. #haynesbriefs pic.twitter.com/utz0FNLppB
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) January 6, 2025
The 2024-25 season is Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic’s second year with the Phoenix Suns. Beal started 53 games and Nurkic started 76 games in 2023-24. Through 33 games this season, Beal and Nurkic have both started 23. However, changes are being made to the starting lineup on Monday vs. the 76ers. NBA insider Chris Haynes reported that Beal and Nurkic will be coming off the bench. Rookie Ryan Dunn and veteran Mason Plumlee will start vs, Philadelphia.
Dunn has played in 29 of 33 games this season and has made 13 starts. Plumlee has played in 32 of 33 games and has made 10 starts. The Suns will have their top rebounder coming off the bench in Jusuf Nurkic. He’s averaging (9.5) rebounds per game in 2024-25. On top of that, Bradley Beal is averaging (17.8) points per game this season. That is the third-highest on the team after Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. This will be the first game in 2024-25 that Beal and Nurkic will come off the bench. If that leads to success, it could be a permanent change to the rotation. If not, Beal and Nurkic could be starters again soon.
