Jordan Ott says the Suns are ready, and his starting five’s numbers back him up

Phoenix Suns coach Jordan Ott closed the preseason by telling reporters his team is ready for the games that count, and the box score from Friday’s finale explains his confidence as well as his caution: the group he plans to lean on dominated its minutes, and the reserves behind it did not.

Phoenix lost that finale 119-116 to the Utah Jazz on Friday, October 16, at Mortgage Matchup Center. The result hid the shape of the night. The Suns led by as many as 13 and had scored 95 points through three quarters, then managed just 21 in the fourth as Utah closed on a 29-point quarter.

Ott framed the preseason around a simple measure. “When our rotation guys have played, we’ve played to our identity,” he said afterward, adding that his players had already turned the page in the locker room.

The starting five carried the night

The lineup Ott sent out first was Devin Booker, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Miles Bridges and rookie center Khaman Maluach. Together they finished a combined plus-31. Green and Brooks each scored 18 points and were plus-10 in about 23 minutes apiece. Booker added 16 points and six assists in 26 minutes, the only starter with a minus mark at minus-3. Maluach grabbed 12 rebounds, part of a 20-offensive-rebound night for Phoenix, and Bridges, back after missing time with an injury earlier in camp, was plus-7.

The other nine players who appeared combined for minus-46. Jamaree Bouyea, who has secured the 14th roster spot, scored 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting but was minus-9. Ryan Dunn went scoreless in 17 minutes at minus-10, and rookies Koby Brea, Rasheer Fleming and Koa Peat were each minus-6 or worse. Jordan Goodwin was the exception off the bench at plus-6 with 10 points.

The Suns also sent Utah to the line 37 times while committing 30 fouls, and the Jazz made 32 of those free throws. That gap was larger than the final margin.

Health first, with two questions left

Ott called health “first and foremost” when a preseason ends, and Phoenix mostly got through it. Two rotation pieces sat out the finale: Oso Ighodaro with a hip issue and Luke Kennard with a sore left knee. Both are worth watching on the injury report this week, because Kennard’s shooting and Ighodaro’s minutes behind Maluach shape how deep Ott can go before he has to lean on the younger reserves who struggled Friday.

The coach also conceded the obvious limit of exhibition evidence, saying the real answer comes Wednesday night. This is a team that won 45 games last season, avoided the play-in and was then swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round, so the bar for a good October is higher than it was a year ago.

On to the regular season. pic.twitter.com/N3xAypDOtT

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) October 17, 2026

What comes next

Phoenix opens the regular season at the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday, October 21, at 10:00 pm ET. Follow it in the Game Center.