Both Khaman Maluach and Rasheer Fleming were sent to the G League again as the San Diego Clippers were on the schedule, and the organization saw real value in giving them more time on the floor. The big
club does not play until Sunday against the Lakers , so even with the minutes they logged last night in that dog walking against the Oklahoma City Thunder, both players were in Tempe on Thursday. Brian Gregory and Rex Chapman were there as well, which is something I love seeing.
So how did the guys look? This will not be a quarter-by-quarter breakdown, but here are my takeaways.
Overall, it was a positive outing. I am seeing growth with both players. Maybe I am wearing rose colored glasses, but I continue to progress. The statistics might not hit the same level as their last outing, but their impact was clear. You can see how they are starting to play what you would call “Phoenix Suns basketball”. Gritty play. Hustle. Active hands. All of those traits were on display in Tempe.
So let’s talk about how the rookies looked.
Khaman Maluach
First off, the amount of hustle Maluach played with was highly impressive. There were a few sequences where he sprinted back on defense, then sprinted back on offense, then turned around and sprinted back on defense again, then back on offense once more, and finished it off by grabbing a rebound and firing it off a defender. The lesson is simple. His motor is high. He is going to hustle.
We have seen that at the NBA level with Mark Williams. One reason Williams has been so effective this season is the way he punishes opposing centers who fail to get back. He sprints out, builds momentum in transition, and forces defenders to pay for taking a play off. That mentality has rubbed off on Khaman. He looked locked in. He looked engaged. He looked like a player who came to work.
He had a first-half double-double and was active on the glass. Offensively, he went straight into contact. Mark Williams is great at attacking players while still slipping around them to finish. Maluach is different. He goes straight through you. I like that about him. And because of that force, he ended up at the line, where he went 3-of-4.
Another area that is starting to show real growth is his screening. It is not only about setting a hard screen. It is about knowing how to use your body and create disruption. He has started to lean into that. Stick the backside out a little further to rub, slow the defender down, and make contact without picking up the offensive foul. His screen work is getting more deliberate. Earlier in the season, it felt rigid. Correct position, limited influence. Now there is a little craft in there.
I also like that he is beginning to grab defensive rebounds and immediately scan the floor for transition chances. In earlier games, he would secure the ball and look for the nearest guard. Now his eyes are up. The moment he gets the rebound, he is checking for opportunities.
Defensively, he went after every shot in his vicinity. He swatted four of them. One was called a goaltend because of how aggressively he chased it, but he also had a block that was ruled a foul and then overturned. He was everywhere.
There was no better rebounder on the floor than Maluach. None. He swallowed everything in reach. We have seen him struggle at times with bigger, stronger centers and get pushed around. Tonight was different. The Clippers had no one who could match him on the boards. He even stepped out and hit an 18-foot jumper. And then knocked down a three.
Maluach ended 8-of-11 on the night with 22 points and 19 boards, 6 of which were of the offensive variety. Overall, it was another strong outing. High motor. High impact. Exactly what you want to see from him at this stage.
Rasheer Fleming
Fleming’s hustle and activity stood out, too. This feels like part of building the culture from the ground up. These guys are spending time around the Suns, seeing how the big club operates, then carrying that mentality into the G League.
Fleming is a disruptive player with active hands. He pokes and digs after every rebound and tries to create chaos. He was not covering the same miles as Maluach, since wings tend to run from three-point line to three-point line, but he was locked in, especially on the glass. I appreciate that when a teammate put a shot up, he crashed the boards almost every time. That is a Jordan Ott thing. In the past, players would start drifting back the moment a three went up. Now it is about chasing extra possessions. You get those by attacking the rim. Fleming did that over and over.
He got his shots up and finished the night 5-of-17 from the field and 3-of-11 from deep. The more I watch Rasheer, the more I see how comfortable he is in the corner. That corner three is his sweet spot. Any other long-range look is a little less reliable, but he has the corner down. That is where he spent a lot of his time on offense.
There wasn’t much cutting, but I equate that to guards who aren’t really facilitators. There was no real shot creation, although Sheer had a couple of drives that looked strong all the way to the rim, but he did not finish them. There was one possession where he grabbed three offensive rebounds off three misses before he finally scored. That is where the opportunity is for Fleming. Finishing with touch. We know he can dunk on people. If he wants to be consistently effective, touch matters.
It was not perfect. There were moments when he lost track of his assignment on defense, but he recovered well enough to disrupt the Clippers’ plan to get that player a clean look. It never felt like the Clippers attacked him much. I don’t know if that is because he spent most of the night guarding a small forward who stood in the corner and lived there, or if it says something about his reputation or the scouting report. Either way, the ball did not find him often on that end.
His hands were active in passing lanes, deflecting the ball multiple times. Is it strange that the more I watch him, the more I see hints of a young Kawhi Leonard? I know that is a reach. I know I am pushing it. But the way he moves, even the way he shoots, has a little Kawhi in it. And the way he hustles on defense, especially on closeouts, is highly impressive.
Both rookies walked out of Tempe looking like players who understand what this organization demands. High effort and high activity. Maluach brought force and purpose every trip down the floor. Fleming brought energy and disruption. You can see the framework forming. You can see the habits building. Nights like this matter for a team trying to grow its next wave of contributors, and both guys looked like they took another step.
