Phoenix Suns guard Grayson Allen, who was (and is) pacing to topple the franchise record for 3-pointers made in a season, hasn’t played since Nov. 13 against the Indiana Pacers due to a right quad contusion.
He was initially listed as day-to-day, but the Suns are taking a cautious approach in terms of bringing the sharpshooter back.
At the time of the injury, Allen was in the midst of a career-best season. He’s averaging career highs with 18.5 points, 4.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game while also connecting on 44.7% of his 3-point attempts.
Allen has missed the team’s past four games and could be sidelined again for a Monday night showdown against the Houston Rockets — he's listed as a game-time decision.
Nevertheless, the Suns are 3-1 in those four games without Allen.
Jordan Goodwin is a big reason why.
The 27-year-old journeyman made his first start of the season Sunday night against the San Antonio Spurs and made a tremendous impact. He put up his first double-double of the season by scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. It was his first double-double since April, 12, 2024 when he was playing for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Allen’s injury has opened up playing time for Goodwin under head coach Jordan Ott, and the guard is taking advantage.
In addition to the double-double in the win against the Spurs, Goodwin has posted the following stat lines with Allen sidelined:
- 13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals on Nov. 21 against the Minnesota Timberwolves (NBA Cup game)
- 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and an assist Nov. 18 against the Portland Trail Blazers
- 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal Nov. 16 against the Atlanta Hawks
He’s scored in double figures in each of the four games when Allen hasn’t been healthy enough to play, giving both Ott and his Suns teammates a huge lift.
While the offensive output is certainly appreciated, Goodwin’s impact on the defensive end remains his calling card. His defensive rating of 111 at the time of writing is the best mark of his career. His defensive box plus/minus of 1.4 is tied for his best mark from 2022-23 with the Washington Wizards, but he’s now adding a positive offensive box plus/minus instead of it being in the negatives like it was with Washington.
According to data from NBA.com, the top three most-used lineups including Goodwin all have a positive net rating (meaning the Suns are outscoring their opponents with him on the floor).
Two of those three lineups have a defensive rating below 100 (I.E. allowing fewer than 100 points per 100 possessions when Goodwin is in the lineup).
But the lineup fans should want to see more of going forward is the mix of Collin Gillespie, Goodwin, Royce O’Neale, Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro.
That unit has a defensive rating of 86.5 through games played on Nov. 23 to go with an offensive rating of 133.3 in 17 minutes of combined action. That makes for a ludicrous net rating of 46.8. It’s a small sample size, but that five-man rotation is blowing out opponents by nearly 50 points per 100 possessions.
Coach Ott has made it an emphasis this season to keep his rotations fluid. He’s allowing a number of different guys to get their shot, and Goodwin has been the biggest recent beneficiary.
When Allen ultimately returns from injury for Phoenix, he’ll no doubt provide that same offensive spark.
But when he was sidelined, Goodwin established himself as a more than capable piece to the Suns’ rotational puzzle. For Ott, that’s a good problem to have for the rest of the season.