Phoenix Suns rookie Rasheer Fleming got his first taste of the Los Angeles Lakers in the preseason, and in his third regular-season crack at them Thursday he displayed much more comfort in the league with a career night.
The 6-foot-9 forward matched a career-best eight points (2-of-3 shooting from 3) and corralled a career-most six rebounds, with three being offensive boards.
Fleming knows he’s come a long way from being a physically-gifted wild card in October to being a key cog in a thrilling victory that doubled as the season-series winner (3-1) over the Lakers.
But it’s not the on-court presence that has made the difference in being able to hang with his childhood hero LeBron James.
“Just the progression I’ve seen overall outside of the games that I’ve been playing because I haven’t played much,” Fleming told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo Friday. “The games that I have played in recently, just seeing how much more comfortable I’ve been getting. I’m really loving the progression of this year.”
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Phoenix made a few different moves in the NBA Draft to land Fleming at No. 31 overall, and through time with the G League Valley Suns and NBA Suns, the man with a freakishly-athletic 7-foot-5 wingspan is paying off the franchise’s investment.
An NBA player’s plus-minus metric tells you a lot about their effectiveness on the floor, and Fleming produced a career-best +19 Thursday. Fleming has not been in the negative, or been part of losing minutes, the past five games.
Fleming’s development hasn’t gone unnoticed by first-year general manager Brian Gregory, who last week complimented the Suns’ entire trio of rookies (center Khaman Maluach and guard Koby Brea being the others) for their “attitude.”
“I love playing in the G League with Khaman and Koby. It’s great for us,” Fleming said. “In different situations with the ball in my hand, with the ball not in my hand, just learning how to do both at a high pace, high level.”
With the increased comfortability with NBA speed, Fleming has seen his minutes and responsibilities grow over 34 games. After only seeing double-digit minutes in seven games from November to January, the forward has seen five of such minutes in six games this month.
His 3-point shot, particularly in the corner, has been a focal point in his progression.
“It’s progression.”
Phoenix Suns rookie Rasheer Fleming discussed on @BurnsAndGambo how his 3-point shot has been developing between G League and NBA play.
He was 2 for 3 from 3 in Thursday’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
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Fleming, who is 7 for 17 from deep range in February, said he is working on eliminating any sideways or backwards movement while shooting.
“I’ve been working on that every day,” Fleming said. “It’s progression with all of that stuff. … I know I go all over the place a little bit, not all over the place, but not really in a straight line all the time. And now to be more consistent … it’s still getting better and not like over exaggerated.”
His two made 3s in Thursday’s win both came in the third quarter, a quarter where head coach Jordan Ott substituted his entire starting lineup for guys off the bench. The rare move by the first-year coach paid off, as the Suns’ bench outscored the Lakers’ 31-0.
“Everybody on the team is needed to win the game, so when he called that timeout (with 8:03 left in the quarter) and told us like just bring the energy, we just went and did what the team needed,” Fleming said. “(We) went out there, played hard and when the starters went back in there, they did the same for us.”
The Suns (34-26) next play Tuesday at the Sacramento Kings (14-47). Fleming did not score (0 for 1) in six minutes in his lone matchup against the Kings on Jan. 2.
If his Lakers’ performance is any indication, Fleming may well continue his progression as a game-changer.
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