The Phoenix Suns continue to be one of the biggest feel-good stories in the NBA this season.
Despite preseason predictions landing the Suns on the outside looking in at the playoff picture after a blockbuster trade sent Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets last summer, Phoenix is the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference through games played Jan. 13.
They’ve been able to accomplish that despite not having Jalen Green healthy enough to play.
Green, the 23-year-old guard who was the primary target coming back in the KD trade, has played just five quarters all season to this point due to a recurring hamstring injury.
In his stead, Devin Booker continues to lead the way while Dillon Brooks (another KD trade acquisition) puts together a career year on offense. Throw in the impact of Mark Williams, the breakout of Collin Gillespie and a plethora of other thriving role players, including sharpshooter Royce O’Neale, and you have a recipe to win games with consistency.
But what will the Suns look like when Green finally makes his return? And what will Green bring to the table when he’s finally available?
In his one full game played with the Suns back on Nov 6 — a win over the Los Angeles Clippers — Green scored 29 points on 10-of-20 shooting while draining six 3-pointers. He added three assists, three rebounds and two steals to the box score.
It would be unfair to expect nearly 30 points per contest from Green upon his return, but there’s reason to believe he can provide a serious jolt.
Here’s what we can expect from Green when he’s no longer rocking street clothes.
Look for Jalen Green’s 3-point shooting to improve
In his NBA career to this point, Green is a 34.2% shooter from long range. That percentage this season would slot Green at 124th on the league leaderboard — not exactly the sharpshooting of O’Neale who ranks 20th at 41.9% or Gillespie who’s tied for 27th at 40.9% from deep.
But there’s reason to believe Green will improve upon that career mark with the Suns, and it goes beyond his 6-of-13 shooting display in his lone full game to this point.
During the 2024-25 season with the Rockets, Green shot 35.4% from 3-point range for the season overall. However, according to NBA.com data, Green shot 40.9% from long range on attempts when he didn’t need to take a single dribble.
He was far more effective on those catch-and-shoot chances, and in an offense that already features Booker and Brooks, there’s a great chance Green will get more of those opportunities as defenses are forced to key in elsewhere.
It’s an extremely small sample size, but Green made 62.5% of his catch-and-shoot 3s in those five quarters played this season.
With more catch-and-shoot opportunities in an offense that moves the ball and relies on Booker and Brooks to create, Green could thrive and get his percentage closer to 40% this season.
Assume fewer drives and highlight finishes
Green’s highlights with Houston are a smorgasbord of high-flying slams at the cup.
Unfortunately, Suns fans shouldn’t expect much of that, at least initially, when he returns.
Green has twice now been sidelined by a hamstring injury. It’s logical to assume Green will ease his way back after missing more than two months of action. Explosive bursts to the rim increase his injury risk, so expect Green to be more of a perimeter threat around the Booker-Brooks-Gillespie trio until he gets his legs back underneath him at NBA game speed.
More steals to match the team’s identity
For his career, Green has yet to average a full steal per game in a season. His two steals in five quarters this season put him there, and on a team that’s become elite at disrupting opposing offenses via steals, we should expect that to continue.
Steals are among the defining traits of this Suns team. At 10.4 pilfers per contest, the Suns are tied with the Detroit Pistons for the league lead in that category — just ahead of the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
Green showed flashes in Houston of darting into passing lanes to nab errant passes and finish on the break with authority. If the Suns’ team defense can put him in even better positions to do so consistently, there’s no reason to believe Green can’t contribute on the defensive side of the ball as well.