In the midst of seven losses in the past eight games, the Phoenix Suns will remove Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic from the starting lineup beginning with Monday’s road game against the Philadelphia 76ers, multiple outlets reported.
Rookie Ryan Dunn and veteran big man Mason Plumlee are expected to start for Beal and Nurkic on Monday as the Suns try to end a four-game losing streak.
The Suns enter Monday’s game in the middle of the pack in the NBA with 112.1 points per game, with the lineup change a potential boon to Phoenix’s second unit.
Beal, 31, has started all 23 games he has played this season, scoring 17.8 points with 3.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists. He last came off the bench in the 2015-16 season for the Washington Wizards.
Nurkic, 30, also has started in 23 games this season, averaging 8.8 points with 9.5 rebounds. His last significant action in a reserve role came when he played 17 games off the bench in the 2016-17 season for the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers.
Dunn, 21, has averaged 6.5 points in 29 games (13 starts) this season, while the 34-year-old Plumlee has averaged 4.3 points with 6.1 rebounds in 32 games (10 starts). Dunn was a first-round selection by the Suns in the 2024 draft.
–Field Level Media