Ish Wainright offers Suns a different look in small-ball lineups

On the season, Ish Wainright holds averages of 2.2 points and 1.5 rebounds in 7.6 minutes per game. He’s shot 38.5 percent from the field, has only appeared in 23 games for the Phoenix Suns and is playing on a two-way contract that would make him ineligible for the playoffs.

But against the San Antonio Spurs Sunday night, and sparingly in a handful of other matchups, head coach Monty Williams has taken advantage of the opportunity to deploy the 6-foot-5 Wainright as a small-ball center. Williams credited Chris Paul and assistant coach Kevin Young with suggesting that changeup against the Spurs, and it wound up making all the difference.

“The move was to get Ish in the game so we could just switch 1-5,” Williams said. “He has an ability to guard his position, but he also made some plays on the offensive end that were key for us. He’s been a guy that’s kept his mind right, his game tight all season long, but lately he seems to be playing with a bit more confidence.”

Trailing by 12 points at the end of the third quarter, the Suns quickly erased their deficit with a 15-2 run to start the fourth. Phoenix outscored San Antonio 36-19 in the final frame, and when Wainright subbed in at the 4:30 mark of the third quarter, he didn’t check back out for the rest of the game.

“Ish is just such a good person, first and foremost, a great teammate,” Chris Paul said. “And just to see him take full advantage of that opportunity, we was walking off the court, I was like, ‘That’s not easy, ’cause me, Book, the guys, we’re hard on you, but we just expect so much from each other.’ And for him to step in and have the impact that he did was big-time.”

“That steady raises your confidence,” Wainright added. “I already have confidence, but hearing that, hearing your head coach, assistant coach, those guys consistently throwing me out there. And I’m also getting comfortable. We talk every play. Every timeout, we talk. So just having that confidence and having the coaching staff and the players continue to trust me, and entrust me to do whatever I need to do to stay on the court.”

Wainright rewarded that trust on Sunday with the best game of his career so far. In 20 minutes off the bench, he tacked on a career-high 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 assist and 1 steal, all while shooting 4-for-8 from the floor and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc.

On the offensive end, he positioned himself well in the dunker’s spot for a few key buckets:

He also knocked down a pair of corner 3s, in keeping with a recent trend:

“When you have a head coach that, before you even catch the ball, you hear him in your ear, ‘Shoot it,’ and then you hear the vets, you got Jae, everybody else on the bench talking about, ‘Let it fly,’ and then right before it leaves your hands, ‘It’s cash,’ like, you hear them say that, that’s confidence,” Wainright said. “And that tells you that this environment is something else.”

Monty Williams has talked frequently about the Suns’ “let it fly” mentality this season, but on most teams, that sort of credo typically doesn’t extend to guys playing on two-way contracts. Wainright has only made nine of his 29 3-point attempts so far, but he’s also made five of his last eight and appears to be getting more comfortable.

“Guys work on their games, so why get in the game and be hesitant?” Williams said. “We have a ‘let it fly’ mentality, I’m sure you guys get tired of hearing that, but it is what it is. Our guys put the work in, and so when they get into the game, all of our guys want to encourage each other. But I think when they hear it from me, it may add a bit more confidence to the players’ mindset. I think Ish was surprised when he heard it was me saying it, but that’s just who we are.”

While Wainright has only shot 3-for-19 on above-the-break 3s, he’s been reliable from the corners, going 6-for-10. He’s mentioned P.J. Tucker among memorable Suns who did the dirty work as guys he’s trying to emulate, and with his proficiency from the corners, Tucker is an apt comparison to strive for.

Playing such inconsistent minutes and not getting the chance to hoist many attempts to get in a rhythm means his chances will be few and far between. But Wainright is learning to make the most of them, saying he’s been “working his butt off” in practice to knock down those 3s. His approach is one the Suns have touted many times this season: Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.

“A lot of people don’t understand that you could be a knockdown shooter in practice, but when you get to the game, it’s different,” Wainright said. “Because like you said, you don’t know when your shot is going to come. Me personally, I don’t mind, like, playing five minutes and I get one shot attempt, because I might not touch the ball. It’s nothing wrong with that. It’s my role, I know my role.”

Scoring will never be Wainright’s calling card on this loaded Suns team, but the defensive end is where he really shined against the Spurs. The game served as a microcosm for what he might be able to bring to the table in a pinch.

Though he’s undersized in terms of height, Wainright makes up for it with good defensive positioning and the fact that he’s built like a tank. The Suns are the NBA’s second-best defense thanks to their constant communication, positional versatility and scrambling rotations, so Wainright entering a game late — with his team shorthanded and down by double figures — and then turning the tide with his ability to keep up as a small-ball 5 was quite eye-opening.

“He’s done great, knocking down shots, being where he’s supposed to be on defense and kind of manning down that 5 position when we don’t have a true big,” Cam Johnson said. “He’s a big body on screens, tough to get around, box-outs. He just does a lot of little things well, and he’s a guy whose main goal is just to go in there and contribute in any way possible to win.”

Wainright was a +8 in his 20 minutes off the bench on Sunday, and although he’d currently be ineligible to play for Phoenix in a playoff game, there’s always a chance his two-way deal is converted into a regular contract.

That all depends on what the Suns do leading up to the NBA Trade Deadline on Feb. 10, but for now, Williams continues to show interest in tinkering with lineups that may come in handy down the road.

“Well, that’s what the regular season does for you,” Williams said. “It allows for you to have those experiences, those moments, to figure it out and allow for guys to build confidence or make mistakes and learn from them. I hear the talk about ‘the regular season doesn’t mean anything.’ I don’t agree with that, because you get a chance to experience and experiment with certain groups and certain things that you want to work on.”

How often the Suns can rely on Ish Wainright in a playoff series remains to be seen. They already have six roster spots committed to centers between Deandre Ayton, JaVale McGee, Bismack Biyombo, Jalen Smith and the injured Frank Kaminsky and Dario Saric, but they don’t have many options when it comes to going small.

With Saric most likely out for the season, and Torrey Craig being lost to free agency, Wainright may be their de facto choice if an opponent forces them to go small. It’s a limited sample size, but according to Cleaning the Glass, in the 16 or so minutes Wainright has spent at center this season, the Suns have outscored their opponents by a literally-unbelievable 70.1 points per 100 possessions.

Add Rudy Gay and Eric Paschall to the list of guys who learned how strong Ish Wainright is 😂 pic.twitter.com/7Y3ijWTLzL

— PHNX Suns (@PHNX_Suns) January 28, 2022

“I don’t mind, ’cause teams are not used to it,” Wainright said of playing center. “I’m used to playing the 4 or 5. Coming from overseas, you play small-ball over there half the time. But teams here aren’t really used to that, so it was fun.”

Going small — especially with Wainright — presents challenges, of course. Closing out stops with defensive rebounds becomes more difficult anytime you go small, and that goes double for lineups with a 6-foot-5 guy manning the center spot. Switching 1-5 requires constant vigilance and communication, and the weakest links can be exposed much more in a playoff setting than they would be in a regular-season game against the 19-32 Spurs in January.

But Wainright showed a glimpse of something promising Sunday night, something the Suns might need to unleash in the playoffs depending on the situation. Whether it’s with him or someone acquired at the trade deadline, Phoenix may need to go small in a pinch.

Ideally in the Playoffs, you have your 8-9 man rotation set minus any emergencies.

You don't give a roster spot to a guy like Ish Wainright because he's guaranteed to play every night. You give it because when you need to pivot, he might be able to do a few things for you.

— David (@theIVpointplay) January 31, 2022

“Most teams in the league, if they go to a switching defense, it’s to keep the ball in front so that you don’t have to rotate as much,” Williams said. “We’ve gotten so much better at switching. We’re more physical than we were last year for sure. And like I said, it’s an environment that I think we can live in from time to time.”

For now, Wainright will look to prove himself for a Suns team that’s been missing Ayton and Jae Crowder of late. The minutes will fluctuate with guys in and out of the lineup, but for the time being, his goal is to not only replicate a former small-ball “big” like P.J. Tucker, but a current one as well.

“My main focus when I get out there is just to be intense,” he said. “Rebound, crash the boards, knock down open shots. If I get a shot, I’m knocking it down. Just be Jae 2.0 when I’m out there. That’s what I say, that’s my mindset when I go in there, because Jae is an all-around player. He’s out right now, but that’s my main goal is to be what he is on the court.”