With a week before the regular season, the Phoenix Suns announced that Jalen Green would miss the season opener due to a hamstring injury. Originally, he was to be evaluated within 10 days, which prompted him to miss the first game.
However, he missed the next three. Still, there is reason to be hopeful after what head coach Jordan Ott said during his pregame press conference on Wednesday, mentioning that Green is day-to-day with his hamstring injury. This is the first instance this season that he has been listed as day-to-day. It was even more surprising that Green was questionable when the injury report dropped on Tuesday.
Regardless, the Suns will continue to miss his explosiveness and tough shot-making. He looks to be an ideal complement next to Devin Booker, a terrific scorer in his own right.
Now, the team will have to wait a little longer until Green can make his season debut.
The Suns eagerly await Jalen Green's return from injury
Jalen Green wasn't the only player who was on the Suns' injury report. Dillon Brooks joined him with right groin soreness. Brooks missed Monday's game against the Utah Jazz, which was another significant blow.
It seems that the injury bug is hitting the team early, compared to last season. Even with that, the Suns put up a good fight without two of their most impactful players, outside of Booker.
Ott even elaborated more on what the star guard is feeling.
“Jalen wants to play basketball. He is born to play basketball, and he’s such a competitive, positive-spirited person,” Ott said via Shane Young of Suns.com. “When he doesn’t get to do what he wants to do, there’s going to be some frustration, and that’s normal for guys that I’ve been around.
“But we also know we got to be smart with this and it’s an 82-game season. He wants to get out there in a Suns uniform, hopefully soon.”
Either way, they will take their time with Green's injury. Ott described it as a soft-tissue injury, making it tough to properly diagnose.
Rushing him back would be resetting the progress he made and limiting him when the team truly needs him. The phrase “slow and steady wins the race” might not be fun, but it's the race the Suns are running with Green until he's fully ready to go.
