Jalen Green is nearing his return after encouraging injury reports
PHOENIX – Despite Jalen Green continues to miss time with a hamstring injurySunday night brought good news for Phoenix Suns. While head coach Jordan Ott has often been tight-lipped about the details, this time there was a change of scenery.
Although he was initially asked about Grayson Allen missing another game with a right knee injury, he touched more on Green’s progress and the encouragement it brings.
“Still steady progress. It’s really close to playing against bodies, live bodies. Still in the same, we’ve got to keep improving,” Ott said before Sunday’s game.
“Any one-day or two-day guy, but he’s made a lot of progress. You’ve seen him in preseason games. It’s continued to grow.”
Ott is not kidding about the increased workload. In the last few games, Green participated in the team’s warm-up. He uses his athleticism and explodes to the basket like everyone is used to.
However, the next step is playing against live competition. Playing at your own pace is one thing, but going at the speed of the game is another beast.
Jordan Ott is careful with Jalen Green
yes, Green’s injury was a tough pill to swallow for the Suns. At the same time, this 23-year-old has a lot of basketball ahead of him. Not to mention, he didn’t miss a single game in the previous two seasons.
Much like the rest of the team, the coaching staff and front office seem to be in sync prioritizing longevity over now. While Green could technically return, ensuring a smooth transition is Ott’s top priority.
“There are numbers that we can see based on power and sprint speed … knowing that when you go out into a competitive environment, you see the gap, you try to close the gap. It’s a unique environment that he’s going to be put in,” Ott said.
“You go with these soft tissue injuries as well, we want to be as careful as possible. So we’ll have more days where we try to stretch him out in our gym. He’s a valuable piece for us. He’s got a whole long career ahead of him. Again, every step of the way, it was about getting there and going absolutely hard.”
Health is wealth, as one famous person once said – and the Suns are in prime position to bring the Greens back for the long haul.
2026-01-05 01:37:00
