Jalen Green was a cornerstone piece in the deal that sent Kevin Durant to Houston, and unfortunately, he has spent far too much of his Suns tenure in street clothes. We saw the upside early. That season
opener against the Clippers, where he detonated for 29 points, was electric. Then, cruelly on brand, the very next game against that same team, he re-aggravated the hamstring and disappeared into the injury abyss.
Tuesday night in Philadelphia finally felt like the reset. After missing 33 games, Green returned, logged 20 minutes, and looked like himself. Quick. Springy. Confident. The burst was there.
And then history tapped us on the shoulder again.
In the first quarter against the Atlanta Hawks, Green went left, crossed back right, blew past Luke Kennard like he was standing in wet cement, and finished at the rim with ease. Two points. Pure speed. A glimpse of what this could be.
Moments later, he headed straight to the locker room. Same movie. Same pit in the stomach.
He would not return, ultimately being ruled out with right hamstring tightness.
And now the real questions start creeping in, the kind you feel before you even finish asking them. Is his season over? Is this something that leads to surgery? Do the Suns now have to revisit the trade market for help they never planned on needing because Jalen Green was supposed to be that help?
You hope for good news. You always do. But it is deflating. Deeply so.
And it feels painfully familiar. In cruel, very Suns fashion, a young, explosive star who never missed time before arriving in Phoenix suddenly cannot stay on the floor. It is maddening. It is unfair. And it forces conversations nobody wanted to have right now.
