Grayson Allen has truly been one of the unsung heroes for the Phoenix Suns over the course of the 2023-24 season. In his first season with the team, Allen shot a career-best and league-high 46.1 percent from three-point range in 75 total games. Although he was never really known for being a sharpshooter, the former Duke Blue Devil has reinvented himself to become an irreplaceable member of this team. Now in the midst of the NBA Playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Suns find themselves in trouble, down 0-2 before Game 3 on Friday night. To make matters worse, Allen is dealing with a right ankle sprain that would likely sideline him for a few games during the regular season. This has led to the question: Is Grayson Allen playing in Game 3 against the Timberwolves on Friday night?
Grayson Allen injury status vs. Timberwolves
The Suns find themselves down two games to none as they head to Phoenix for Games 3 and 4 of this first-round series against the Timberwolves. Whether or not they will have Allen on the wing next to Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker seems to be the big question pertaining to the Suns right now.
Allen left Game 2 in Minneapolis due to a really bad-looking ankle sprain. After entering the game with a tweaked ankle, Allen had to be helped to the locker room and couldn't put much weight on his right ankle after coming down awkwardly on Mike Conley's foot after a block attempt. He did not return to the game.
Allen was initially listed as questionable to play on Friday. During the team's practice session on Thursday, Alle spoke with reporters, claiming that his ankle is “better” than he thought it would be.
“It's good. Better than I thought. I thought it was going to hurt a lot,” Allen stated. “It's feeling pretty good.”
When asked if he felt like he would be available to play on Friday, Allen simply smirked and stated that he was questionable.
Unfortunately, Allen has since been ruled out for the contest, per Suns reporter Amanda Pflugrad.
Bad luck has followed Allen around in this series, as he has scored just a total of seven points on 1-of-5 shooting from 3-point range through two days. In the Suns' season finale against the Timberwolves, Allen scored 20 points and made 8-of-11 shots from the floor, including three triples.
Friday night's Game 3 in Phoenix is a massive matchup for the Suns. Should they go down 0-3, they will be staring down a scenario in which they would need to make NBA history just to keep their title hopes alive. No team has ever come back from being down 0-3 in a series, as teams facing this scenario are 0-151 all time.
So, when it comes to the question of whether Grayson Allen is playing on Friday night against the Timberwolves, the answer is unfortunately NO.
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