{"id":547388,"date":"2026-01-19T20:17:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T20:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/547388\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T20:17:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T20:17:14","slug":"game-preview-jalen-greens-return-looms-as-the-suns-face-the-nets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/547388\/","title":{"rendered":"Game Preview: Jalen Green\u2019s return looms as the Suns face the Nets"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Who: Phoenix Suns (25-17) @ Brooklyn Nets (12-28)<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">When: 5:30pm Arizona Time<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Where: Barclays Center \u2014 New York, New York<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Watch: Arizona\u2019s Family 3TV, Arizona\u2019s Family Sports, Yes Network<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Today has the potential to be a huge day for the Phoenix Suns. After being out since November 8th, Jalen Green could make his return to the court tonight, a huge boost to the team\u2019s offense. Green, a 20 point per game scorer for his career, has played just two games this year due to a right hamstring injury that he re-aggravated early in the season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Being traded to Phoenix in the Kevin Durant trade, because of his offensive firepower and ball handling, he\u2019s viewed as the team\u2019s midseason acquisition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Whether Green plays or stays sidelined, this looks to be the easiest game the Suns have on their six-game road trip. The Nets are the only team not in the play-in or playoff standings they face on it, and are 12-28 and losers of six of their last seven games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">With the two teams making a blockbuster trade three seasons ago to send Kevin Durant to the Suns, Brooklyn and Phoenix have recent history. Both were neither able to win, let alone reach an NBA Finals with the superstar, and since his departure, the squads are in transition periods. Brooklyn is rebuilding and compiling as many young players as possible, while Phoenix has retooled the roster around Devin Booker.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Tonight is a contrast in styles of how to build a team after a superstar leaves.<\/p>\n<p>Projected Starting Lineups<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"_1eezmj01\" href=\"https:\/\/platform.brightsideofthesun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2026\/01\/Game-Matchup-4.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0,0,100,100\" data-pswp-height=\"1440\" data-pswp-width=\"2560\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\"><img alt=\"\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"w91vxg0\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'\/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'\/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'\/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'\/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3C\/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot;)\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Game-Matchup-4.png\"\/><\/a>Devin Booker \u2014 QUESTIONABLE (Left Ankle Soreness)Jamaree Bouyea \u2014 AVAILABLE (Concussion Protocol)Jordan Goodwin \u2014 AVAILABLE (Jaw Sprain)Jalen Green \u2014 QUESTIONABLE (Right Hamstring Strain)Egor Demin \u2014 OUT (Left Plantar Fascia)Haywood Highsmith \u2014 OUT (Right Knee)Day\u2019Ron Sharpe \u2014 OUT (Illness)Cam Thomas \u2014 OUT (Left Hamstring)<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">If Jalen Green returns tonight, all eyes will be on him. In his only full game of the season, Green gave the Suns a lot to be excited about, scoring 29 points in 23 minutes, making six threes, and being a +30 when he was on the court. He scored the second-most points ever in a Suns debut and made the most threes in a player\u2019s first game with the franchise.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">While he looks to be on a minutes restriction for his first few games, especially in his first game, Green should provide the team with an offensive spark to what is already a roster that is getting a lot of contributors from its guards. Collin Gillespie and Grayson Allen are having career seasons, while Devin Booker is averaging at least 25 points per game for his eighth straight season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">If Green doesn\u2019t play, it\u2019s important to monitor how Booker looks. He missed the team\u2019s game against the Detroit Pistons last week after hurting his ankle in the previous contest. Booker returned to action on Saturday against the Knicks, scoring 27 points. With Phoenix playing in the first night of a back-to-back, it will be interesting to see how the coaching staff manages his minutes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Turnovers. The Nets average the seventh-most turnovers per game this season. With young ball handlers like Egor D\u00ebmin and Drake Powell, the Suns have an opportunity to utilize one of their strongest skillsets, which is generating steals. Phoenix is tied with the Pistons for the most steals per game this year at 10.5. If Phoenix can get ahead early and force Brooklyn\u2019s young guards into pressure, they\u2019ll be in a good position to win.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">It\u2019s important for the Suns to come out with a lot of energy. Tonight is Brooklyn\u2019s third game in four nights, and they had to travel from the Midwest after yesterday\u2019s game against the Chicago Bulls. Phoenix could be in a position to take advantage of tired legs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The Suns have done a great job of taking advantage of lesser opponents this season. They haven\u2019t lost to a team not currently in the play-in or playoff standings since October. Look for the Suns to take care of business without much disruption.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Who: Phoenix Suns (25-17) @ Brooklyn Nets (12-28) When: 5:30pm Arizona Time Where: Barclays Center \u2014 New York,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":547389,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3767],"tags":[7,670,247,3803,6,671,30667],"class_list":{"0":"post-547388","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn-nets","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-brooklyn","10":"tag-brooklyn-nets","11":"tag-brooklynnets","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-nets","14":"tag-suns-game-previews"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115923612885258267","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=547388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547388\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/547389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=547388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=547388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=547388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}