(Photo courtesy of Tom O’Grady)
[By Raz Devraj](https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/author/raz-devraj/)
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Just when the Phoenix Suns seemed to be getting healthy and building momentum, beating the Los Angeles Clippers on the road for their fourth win in five games, they suffered another setback.
Guard Jalen Green, who scored 29 points in his Suns debut two nights earlier against the Clippers in Phoenix, played less than seven minutes in the 114-103 victory at the Intuit Dome Saturday before aggravating the right hamstring injury that kept him out for the team’s first eight games.
It came on the night that guard Dillon Brooks, their best perimeter defensive player, returned to the lineup after missing six games. With six of their next eight games at home, beginning Monday against the 2-7 New Orleans Pelicans, the Suns finally looked as if they would have their full rotation in place.
The Suns win at the Intuit Dome was their first road victory of the season, and it was the first game in which their starting lineup of Brooks, Green, Devin Booker, center Mark Williams and forward Grayson Allen played together, along with key reserves such as Royce O’Neal, Ryan Dunn and Collin Gillespie.
Brooks and Green, who dropped those 29 points in only 23 minutes while setting a franchise record for 3-point shots made in a Suns debut (six), were key pieces that came to the Suns in the seven-team blockbuster that sent Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets.
Suns coach Jordan Ott was anxious to see the full lineup in action for the first time.
“We did get some (reps) in the preseason at times, but this is really the first time I’m going to see everyone on the floor, all together,” Ott said before Saturday night’s game. “Go out and compete, we’ll figure out some stuff as we go along. Definitely excited to see everyone out there.”
Not only was Ott ready to see his full squad, but the entirety of Planet Orange had been waiting to see what the team could do with all of its pieces in place. Unfortunately for the Suns, that excitement was short-lived, and the need to “figure out some stuff” as the game went on came quicker than expected with Green’s setback.
In the final minute of the first quarter against the Clippers, Green needed assistance to leave the court and it was later determined that the 23-year-old had aggravated the hamstring injury. Green scored just two points with one assist and one rebound.
The Suns have not yet released an update on Green’s status, but missing at least four weeks because of the injury is not uncommon.
“As soon as you see him go out, you just feel for him,” Ott said. “He worked so hard to get back, (and he) had such a great night the other night. Highs and lows of sports in 48 hours.”
There’s no doubt it was hard for the Suns to see Green exit like that after he worked diligently to return, but no one could quite relate to the situation as much as Booker, who had gone through a similar situation.
“Yeah, it’s tough. I’ve definitely been through it,” Booker said after the game. “We’re going to rally behind him. He’s been putting in a lot of work to get back out on the court, and his debut the other night was off the charts, so there’s some good in there.
“We’ve seen a small glimpse of it with us all together, but you know the priority is to make sure he’s healthy and for sure fully ready to go next time.”
It was a position the Suns have been in all season, minus one game, and the same sentiment was shared by Ott and the locker room.
“It’s going to test our depth, just like it has, you know, with him out to start the season. We have great faith, and it’s the next man up,” Ott said. “This group will have no excuses. We lace ’em up, go out and play … whoever we put out there, we know will play as hard as they possibly can.”
With Green out for almost the entirety of Saturday’s contest, the Suns were once again led by the same players they have been relying on for most of the season. Booker came within a whisker of his first career regular-season triple-double, finishing with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists.
Williams contributed 19 points and six boards and Brooks dropped 16 points, including a massive 3 late in the game, as the Suns held on for the win.
Although the Suns received great production from the usual suspects in Booker, Williams and Brooks, some other role players came up big when they were needed the most.
Gillespie exploded in the first half, going 4 of 6 from beyond the arc, while Allen chipped in 14 points, nailing four 3-pointers in seven attempts. O’Neal contributed 12 points, all on 3-point shots. The Suns shot 42% from 3-point range, connecting on 16 of 38.
“Extreme effort all the way around, that’s a good team win,” Booker said of the effort.
Even without Green, the Suns have an opportunity to keep their recent surge going, beginning tonight when the Pelicans, the team with the worst record in the Western Conference, visit Mortgage Matchup Center.
The upcoming stretch should give the Suns a better idea of where they stand after three games against the short-handed Clippers in their first 10, including two in three nights.
“I think we, overall, kind of like it,” Ott said pregame about the challenges of playing the same team so many times in such a short span. “It speeds up some of the scouting pieces to it all, there’s a familiarity now.
“We know they will make adjustments. We’ll make slight adjustments, but the biggest adjustment is they got another player on the roster who’s going to play, as do we.”
Ott was referring to guard James Harden, who missed last Thursday’s game in Phoenix for personal reasons.
Ott said before Saturday’s game that the Suns would have to be physical and emphasize rebounding, forcing turnovers and winning the possession game, even though at times they would be on the smaller side.
That’s exactly what the Suns did, dominating the glass, collecting 42 rebounds, 13 of which were offensive, which led to 20 second-chance points. Winning the possession game is what drove the Suns to victory on Saturday, and it will remain a focus against the Pelicans.
“It’s our principles that we got, we are just in the right spots to get offensive rebounds, we got guys that love to crash,” Brooks said. “We always figure out, when we do get those offensive rebounds, how to spread them out for 3s … we always want to win the possession battle, regardless if it’s offensive boards, turnovers, jump balls, anything to do with the possession.”
Despite their health struggles, the Suns have flipped the script after a rocky start to the season.
“We play hard, and I’m vibin’ with it,” Booker said.