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Plenty of eyes will be on second-year center Khaman Maluach throughout this season as he looks to receive his first real opportunity to play consistent minutes in the NBA following the injury to Mark Williams.
You could essentially call last season a redshirt year for Maluach, considering how little he played. Sure, he appeared in 46 games, but he averaged only 8.9 minutes per contest. It’s difficult to draw many meaningful conclusions from a sample size like that, especially when you’re talking about a young player still learning the nuances of the NBA game. Add in the fact that he’s entering his second season following a full summer of what we hope was growth and development, and projecting what to expect from the 20-year-old big man becomes even more challenging.
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That said, I came across an interesting statistic that could serve as the foundation for a weekly update tracking his progress throughout the season. A “Malu-Watch”, if you will. It’s certainly a flawed metric, but one that could serve as a useful reference point for evaluating his impact on the defensive end. Because at the end of the day, that’s where I’m hoping Maluach makes his greatest contribution.
Whoever starts at center for the Phoenix Suns isn’t going to be somebody the team relies upon to score 20 points every night. Perhaps there will be occasional performances where that happens, but with Devin Booker, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, and Miles Bridges occupying the other four starting positions, the expectation is that those players will dominate the shot diet. The center position will primarily serve a complementary role offensively. But defensively? That’s where the opportunity truly lies, and it’s where I’m hoping Maluach can establish his value.
So what’s the statistic I’m referring to? Rebounds + blocks + steals per 36 minutes.
It’s not a perfect representation of defensive impact, and there are certainly limitations to evaluating a player through those three categories alone. But I came across an interesting little nugget that caught my attention. Based on that measurement from last season, Maluach ranked among the top five…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/welcome-malu-watch-where-numbers-180000650.html
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Publish date : 2026-10-13 18:00:00
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