When Grayson Allen went down against the Warriors on Thursday night, it did not look all that dramatic in real time. Most of us thought it was an ankle. Something minor. Something he could shake off. Instead,
the diagnosis came back as a right knee sprain.
And if you have been watching closely, the signs were there. For a few games now, Allen has been favoring that leg. It is hard to pinpoint the exact moment it happened, but the Brooklyn game stands out. That one was physical. Scrappy. Bodies everywhere. It felt like something may have gotten tweaked there.
True to form, Allen powered through it. Gave the team everything he had at a time when availability mattered.
Then came Golden State. With three minutes left, he went down and did not return. We all know how that finished. The offense unraveled. The game slipped away.
Now the roles flip. Devin Booker is back. Jalen Green is back. And it is Grayson’s turn to take a seat. He has been diagnosed with a right knee sprain and, per PHNX, will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break. The cavalry returns. One soldier steps out. That is the grind.
Allen has been solid all season. One of the quiet pillars of this team. A 40-point night on his résumé, nine games over 20 points, all in just 35 appearances. And there is the catch. Only 35 games.
He missed seven in November with a right quad contusion. Then nine more from mid-December into early January with a right knee issue. Add it up, and the pattern is clear. His right leg has been barking all season.
If there is ever a good time to hit pause, this is it. Two games left before the All-Star break gives him a clean runway to rest and reset. And that matters, because Allen is vital to what this team does. He is in the middle of a career year, averaging 17 points per game, which is 3.5 more than his first season in Phoenix.
If the Suns want to make real noise in the West, they need a healthy Grayson Allen when it counts.
