Jalen Green Set to Miss Season Opener With Hamstring Setback
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Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green will be sidelined when the club tips off the regular season next Wednesday, head coach Jordan Ott told reporters before Tuesday’s preseason finale against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Ott said Green recently aggravated the low-grade hamstring strain he first suffered early in training camp. The setback occurred during the team’s exhibition trip to China, where Phoenix played two games against the Brooklyn Nets.
“Soft-tissue injuries are tough to gauge,” Ott noted. “We caught this early, it’s not serious, but he won’t be ready for opening night.”
The 23-year-old will be re-evaluated in 10 days. That timetable rules him out for the Oct. 22 opener versus the Sacramento Kings but leaves open the possibility he could appear in one of the back-to-back contests against the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets on Oct. 24-25.
Green, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft, was acquired from the Houston Rockets this summer in the blockbuster deal that also sent Dillon Brooks to Phoenix and Kevin Durant to Houston. Durability had rarely been an issue for Green in Houston; he played all 82 games in each of the last two seasons and has not missed a contest since February 2023.
Ott added that center Mark Williams also skipped all four preseason games, though that absence was planned as part of a conditioning program. Williams has been participating in full-court, 5-on-5 sessions and is expected to be available for the regular-season opener.
With several starters resting Tuesday, Phoenix used a preseason lineup of Devin Booker, Brooks, Grayson Allen, Ryan Dunn, and Oso Ighodaro. Williams would likely replace Ighodaro once cleared, while Green is expected to slide into the backcourt in place of Allen or Dunn when healthy.
Source: Hoops Rumors
