Jalen Green’s first season in Phoenix has been a strange one, and the numbers tell the story. After missing just 21 combined games over his first four NBA seasons, the guard was derailed by repeated hamstring strains in 2025/26, limiting him to 32 regular-season games in his debut year with the Suns.
He appears to be past the hamstring issue now, but the on-court fit still looks clunky. Through nine games this season, Green is posting career lows in several categories, including 11.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, while shooting .406/.207/.680. On Monday, he had six points on 2-of-8 shooting, plus five rebounds, four assists and three turnovers in 24 minutes during a lopsided home loss to the Spurs.
Afterward, Green said he’s still working through the right mix of scoring and setting teammates up.
“ That’s a good question. I don’t know. Just gotta start with aggressiveness for sure,” said Green, who holds a $36MM player option for next season.
The Suns dropped to 3-6 after Sunday’s loss, and there were a few other familiar names in the spotlight too.
Miles Bridges, another offseason addition, was quiet Monday with eight points on 3-of-11 shooting and four rebounds. But before that, he had been productive in the five games leading into the loss, and Devin Booker said the forward is settling in.
“ He’s just getting more comfortable,” Booker said. “ Anytime you’re thrown into a new group, it’s going to take some time.
It hasn’t taken him a lot of time. I’ve said already he’s filled a lot of holes that we were missing last year.
His energy is right. Not only is he making shots, and defending, he’s one of the vocal leaders in the locker room, too.”
Bridges, who will be an unrestricted free next summer if he doesn’t sign an extension before then, said being traded to Phoenix “was like a match made in heaven for me.”
Dillon Brooks also had plenty to say before Saturday’s game against Houston, explaining why Kevin Durant’s preseason Twitter comments rubbed him the wrong way. Durant had responded to a clip from an interview with owner Mat Ishbia by tweeting, “#blameKD even though KD stayed on top of his game at 36 and got u back this ‘culture’ you love so much. Aye, Matthew acts like I got arrested for a DUI or sumn.”
Brooks was charged in September with a misdemeanor DUI charge stemming from a March arrest, and he made it clear he didn’t appreciate Durant dragging that into the conversation.
“ If you got beef or you want to have a conversation with somebody in particular, don’t bring up nobody else,” Brooks said. “ You know what I’m saying?
And that just goes to show the little fake accounts and all that (expletive), talking back and forth, and blah, blah, blah. So, I’d rather do it on my real account.
Even though I don’t have a fake account. I’m going to do it on my real account.
And you’re gonna throw some subliminals, I’m gonna throw subliminals back.”
Brooks and Green both said they were looking forward to facing their former team, and Brooks helped back it up on the floor. He held Durant to 1-of-5 shooting in the fourth quarter, and the Suns pulled out the win Saturday thanks to a late scoring burst from Booker.
Durant, for his part, brushed off any idea that the matchup carried extra weight.
“ It’s a normal, regular game,” Durant said. “ I played here for two-and-a-half years.
It’s not that deep. I loved living in Phoenix.
I miss it every day to be honest with you, my favorite place to live in the league. But outside of that, I got no problems with anybody here.”
In Other News...
Victor Wembanyama Just Exposed A Suns Problem Devin Booker Couldn't Fix
Victor Wembanyama turned a routine early-season test into a reminder of just how much trouble his size, skill and timing can create for Phoenix. The Spurs rolled to a 122-96 win as Wembanyama piled up 40 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks in just 25 minutes, and the Suns never found a clean answer for him or for the way San Antonio kept feeding off his presence. The loss snapped Phoenixs two-game winning streak and left the Suns looking like a team that could not quite match the Spurs pace, length and shot-making.
Jordan Ott and Devin Booker both pointed to Wembanyamas impact afterward, but the bigger issue for Phoenix was how thoroughly San Antonios team play amplified the matchup problem. The Suns had stretches where they simply could not get comfortable on either end, and a night that started as another chance to build momentum instead became a blunt reminder of the gap they still have to close against elite frontcourt talent. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama Is Becoming A Serious Problem For The Suns
Victor Wembanyama is already making life miserable for the Suns in a way that goes beyond one ugly night. The Spurs fast start has been driven by his all-around dominance, with Wembanyama putting up eye-popping numbers across the board through the first 10 games and joining Shaquille ONeal as the only players in the last 50 seasons to open a season with that kind of scoring, rebounding and rim protection.
Against Phoenix, he looked every bit like the centerpiece of a team that is starting to believe in itself, going for 40 points, 11 rebounds and 8 blocks in a Spurs win. For the Suns, it was another reminder that even when they find ways to score, Wembanyama can take over the game at both ends, and the challenge of dealing with him is only getting bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Loss Exposed A Problem Phoenix Still Hasn't Solved
The Suns latest meeting with the Spurs offered a familiar reminder of how much work still remains in Phoenix. San Antonio, with Victor Wembanyama affecting both ends of the floor, put the Suns in a bind inside, where Phoenix was beaten badly on the glass and gave up too much ground in the paint. It was the kind of loss that can linger because it pointed to a problem the Suns have been trying to address for a while.
Even with several Suns players earning community award nominations for their efforts in the game, the bigger picture was hard to ignore. Phoenix can survive stretches when the shot-making is there, but nights like this show how vulnerable the team can be when opponents control the interior and create second chances. Until that changes, the Suns will keep running into the same pressure points against teams built to exploit them. [Read more 🡒]