The Phoenix Suns defeated the Los Angeles Clippers for the second time in three nights on Saturday, led by a balanced performance from Devin Booker, who recorded 21 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists.
The Suns had recently welcomed back guard Jalen Green, acquired in the offseason as part of the Kevin Durant trade. After scoring 29 points in his first game back on Thursday, Green exited Saturday’s matchup just six minutes in after reaggravating a hamstring injury that had sidelined him for the early portion of the season.
According to Evan Sidery of Forbes, Green is now expected to miss the next four to six weeks, delivering a major blow to a Suns team that was just starting to integrate him into the lineup, where he had been adapting impressively to his new team.
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After his first game back against the Clippers on Thursday, Suns head coach Jordan Ott expressed satisfaction with Green’s performance, especially considering he had missed the opening weeks of the season while adjusting to a new team.
“Anytime you’re out of basketball for that long, it’s not easy,” Ott said. “This was his first game of the season as well, so he hasn’t played in a long time. He gave us everything we expected and more.”
Now, the Suns, who sit at 5-5 through the first 10 games of the season, will have to operate without Jalen Green for the foreseeable future.
With Green sidelined, larger roles will fall to Collin Gillespie, Ryan Dunn, Grayson Allen, and Royce O’Neale, all of whom have been logging significant minutes while Green was out.
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