The 2025 Phoenix Suns have a new roster that looks almost entirely different. However, that new roster has not translated to wins yet, with the Suns having a 1-4 record. They are still waiting for one of their bigger pieces to get back from injury, with newcomer Jalen Green dealing with a hamstring injury that has sidelined him for the start of the season.
Suns fans were excited to see Jalen Green on Wednesday against the Memphis Grizzlies because he was upgraded to questionable for the first time since suffering the injury. However, he was ruled out before tip-off, which led to speculation that he suffered a setback in his recovery. Arizona Sports Radio host and reporter John Gambadoro reported that he is on track to recover, but hamstring injuries are tricky and take time.
Gambadoro posted on X: “Suns guard Jalen Green did not suffer a setback from what I was told last night. It's just that hamstring injuries are tricky and take time to heal.”
Green has missed the Suns’ first four games due to a hamstring strain. Green sustained the injury before the Suns’ preseason opener and reaggravated the injury during the team’s trip to China in the preseason.
In July, the Suns acquired Green and Dillon Brooks as part of a seven-team trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets. In four seasons with the Rockets, Green missed 15 games in the regular season and had played in 186 consecutive games before the injury.
The anticipation behind seeing Green's Suns debut is massive because he has grown into a great scorer and someone who could take some pressure off Devin Booker. Green has averaged 20.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game, while also shooting 42.3% from the field and 34.2% from three-point range in his career.
Due to Green's injury, Devin Booker has been forced to produce a lot offensively, which has had mixed results. He has been his usual great scoring self, averaging 29.2 points per game on a 47.4% field goal percentage. However, he has struggled so far as a facilitator without another ball handler next to him, averaging 4.6 turnovers per game.
“I'm excited to play Book. I think it's gonna be a good situation,” Green said at media day last month. “I think I'm gonna be able to learn a lot from him while at the same time adding what I can bring to the table. We will greatly complement each other, especially with the system that Ott's got us playing in.
“I think we're gonna be playing fast, and we're gonna be creating a lot for each other and creating for others. So I'm very excited about it, and I think we're gonna shock many people too.”
