Suns stumble into perfect move that might just see them make play-in

The Phoenix Suns are in as good a place as they've been in the last few seasons right now, thanks in part to the lowered expectations in The Valley. Any time you can begin a season with a come from behind victory - while also showing the fan base you actually care about winning and defending - then you know you are onto something.

Having a guy you traded a pair of first round draft picks for and who has battled a ton of injuries make it onto the court is even more encouraging, and that's exactly what center Mark Williams did. About the only drawback here is the status of Jalen Green, although he could make his debut for the Suns sooner than expected.

Suns have stumbled into success by starting Grayson Allen.

The real found money here however is Grayson Allen, who in his third season with the organization has somehow taken on an important role once again. As a result of Green being out because of a hamstring strain - and with the Suns struggling for offensive firepower - Allen was given the nod to start against the Sacramento Kings.

Going back to preseason we had spoken about how Allen starting could be possible, although even we conceded that his lack of defensive edge playing at the two or three would be a problem. Coach Ott cleverly combated this by starting Allen alongside Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro, too youngsters who enjoy defending opponent's best players.

This allowed Allen to play 36 minutes against Sacramento - tied for the most alongside Devin Booker - and he dished a whopping seven assists in that time. Unsurprisingly that led the team, and it acted as a release valve for Booker which meant he could focus more on scoring on certain possessions, while Allen tee'd up other guys on the team.

Booker finished with 31, and the play of Allen was part of the reason why. Having him be an ideal backcourt partner to Booker was not what anybody expected coming into the season, and it also creates a problem once Green returns. The Suns could play all three together and send Dunn to the bench - with Dillon Brooks and a center out there too - but they would give up so much size.

They would also fall off a cliff defensively, but there can still be a happy ending here. Allen has proven that you can start him if any other starters are injured, while he's also capable of bringing this mix of 3-point shooting, playmaking and underrated defending to the bench as well. If Allen keeps playing like this the Suns are going to be even more competitive, and the play-in tournament is possible.