Ryan Dunn was surprisingly overshadowed by his teammate in his debut game

There is no doubt that Ryan Dunn was the Phoenix Suns' breakout player in the preseason. The former Virginia player and first-round pick shows that, in addition to his already established defensive work, there are already signs of life in his jump shot and offensive game.

Suns fans were understandably excited about what this could mean for the future of this group. If Dunn can create even a passable version of the Mikal Bridges we saw heading into the 2021 NBA Finals — and early signs have been good — then Dunn alone could raise the ceiling of this group.

It's not that Dunn was bad in the overtime win in Los Angeles – it's that he played and was used exactly how you'd expect a rookie to play in his first ever competitive game for an organization with lofty ambitions. Dunn finished the night with nine minutes played and had two points and two rebounds.

Instead of shooting 6 of 11 from distance like he did in a preseason win over the Denver Nuggets — not that he had a chance to take that many shots anyway — Dunn shot 0 of 2 from 3-pointers -distance and made a single shot from the field out of the five attempts he attempted. However, it wasn't all negative, as there were positive moments on defense too.

What was certainly a surprise, however, was the fact that second-round pick Oso Ighodaro was given a little more court time by head coach Mike Budenholzer (12 minutes), he was involved with six boards and scored the only field goal he made tried throughout the game. There wasn't much separating the impact of either rookie, and there's an obvious reason why Ighodaro had an early run.

For all the talk about Suns fans wanting Dunn to replace Bradley Beal in the starting lineup to create a better balance between the two, that doesn't appear to be the case. Beal is playing with a smile on his face again – and he showed that against the Clippers – and, unlike last season in Phoenix, started the season healthy.

His 24 points trailed only Durant's 25, while the 38 minutes he played were six more than Devin Booker (who admittedly fouled out) and, in turn, trailed only his other superstar teammate, who played a monstrous 44. One can expect Dunn to emulate something similar. Doing that – with the advantage of playing in a competitive environment now – seems foolish.

Ighodaro, on the other hand, has a clearer path to a bigger role — even if he's not currently considered to have as high a ceiling as Dunn — and that was evident in Los Angeles. Center Jusuf Nurkic missed some time in the preseason with a finger problem and only played 22 minutes against the Clippers.

His backup, Mason Plumlee, managed 18 — and while he's an above-average backup player in the league — getting into the 20-minute range and beyond puts a cap on how good the Suns can be. The best use of Plumlee and his underrated handles and passes is to ensure he can enjoy second units and not be a viable replacement for Nurkic for extended periods of close play.

Ighodaro, on the other hand – while still raw in many ways – has an athleticism and dynamism to his game that has been sorely lacking in The Valley of late. He plays the position in a different way – and even though his frame isn't as full out as the other two guys in the rotation, he seems to enjoy creating variety internally and being physically active.

That's why Ighodaro became the bigger talking point of the two rookies in this game, and you shouldn't be surprised if he continues to get more minutes than Dunn early in the season. His path to a bigger role is less crowded – but if Dunn can stay the course and continue to improve on offense, he'll soon be too good to ignore.