The Duo Effect: Shaping the Phoenix Suns’ 2026-27 outlook

Nash and Amare. Stockton and Malone. Peanut butter and jelly. Batman and Robin. We’ve always had a fascination with dynamic duos.

In the context of the modern NBA, analysts often consider two-man lineups. These allow a good sample size of more minutes than three- or even full five-person lineups. Further, they provide an isolated look at chemistry combinations that work. I looked at the top 25 (minutes volume) Suns two-man combinations from last year and sorted by net rating. Here are the ten best combos:

Player 1

Player 2

Net Rating

Goodwin

Ighodaro

7.8

Goodwin

Gillespie

7.5

Gillespie

Dunn

7.4

Booker

Gillespie

7.0

Gillespie

Ighodaro

6.9

Booker

Ighodaro

5.5

Booker

Goodwin

4.5

Booker

Williams

3.7

Ighodaro

Dunn

3.6

Allen

Ighodaro

3.5

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – DECEMBER 23: Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives to the basket against Oso Ighodaro #11 and Jordan Goodwin #23 of the Phoenix Suns during the first half at Mortgage Matchup Center on December 23, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Key implications

Oso Ighodaro appeared in five of these top ten combos. This underscores his impact. Phoenix needs to find more ways to get him on the floor. And he needs to keep working on his shooting. A bump of even a few percentage points in free throw shooting or short jumpers would increase efficiency, and more importantly, allow him to be on the floor at the end of quarters when over the team foul limit.

Jordan Goodwin was a beast last year. The numbers bear out what many of us saw watching the games. As team depth has improved, it’s important he gets minutes and stays engaged.

Ryan Dunn appears twice in top 10 combos. There is still good value with this player, and like Oso, just a small shooting consistency improvement will make a big difference.

Booker and Gillespie were each part of four of the top combos, and it’s interesting that the two of them together was Book’s top pairing at +7.0. This justifies…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/duo-effect-shaping-phoenix-suns-200000586.html

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Publish date : 2026-08-30 20:00:00

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