For the last two months, there has been a song looping in my head whenever Jalen Green comes up. Richard Marx, softly crooning in the background, whispering a promise into the void.
Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you
Whatever it takes
Or how my heart breaks
I will be right here waiting for you
I have been right here waiting. And I hope my heart don’t break. It feels painfully appropriate at this point, equal parts hope, patience, and checking the injury report daily.
We know we are getting close. Suns head coach Jordan Ott said yesterday that Jalen Green got in another five-on-five run after morning shootaround. “Everything seemed to be good,” Coach Ott stated. “So we’ll see. Still going in the right direction.”
That is the kind of update that makes you sit up a little straighter. Not fireworks. Not a declaration. But enough to tell you the wheels are turning, and the return is no longer theoretical.
So…will Green suit up in Brooklyn on Monday night? Questionable.
The last time we saw him was on November 8 against the Clippers. He made it 6:48 into that game, but was then gone in the first quarter after re-aggravating the hamstring that already cost him the first 8 games of the season. It felt cruel. It also felt very Suns.
Before that night, Green had played in 192 consecutive games, playoffs included, without missing time. Then he arrives in Phoenix and the basketball gods get weird. To the team’s credit, they have been careful with it. This is a player built on speed. If you are running on a flat tire, you are not helping anyone.
We still do not know the exact severity. A grade two hamstring usually means 3 to 6 weeks. A grade three can stretch into months and even flirt with surgery. This one lingered long enough to make you wonder. Whatever it was, the Suns chose patience, and with a player like Green, that is the only move that makes sense.
But alas, the designation finally changed. That alone feels like progress. It does not guarantee anything, and it does not mean he is ready to roll, but it is a step forward. He is not listed as probable yet, but for the first time in a while, the door is actually open. He could see the floor again.
And the timing matters. Brooklyn is young, energetic, but they are not going to apply the same defensive pressure Phoenix saw from Detroit, Miami, or New York on this trip. That makes this a softer landing spot, if there is such a thing in the NBA.
So here we are. The questionable stage. Actual movement. Real momentum. Now we wait another day to see if Jalen Green finally suits up and plays basketball for Phoenix again.
