PHOENIX - The Phoenix Suns are just 1-3 to begin the regular season, a far from ideal start that's left many puzzled and wondering what second-year coach Jordan Ott can do to turn things around.
Many of the talking points have been around Jalen Green, entering his second season with Phoenix next to Devin Booker in the team's starting lineup. Initially acquired via trade two summers ago from the Houston Rockets, there was hope Green's potential and athleticism could blossom next to Booker.
We've yet to fully see that happen, and with each loss that mounts, more pressure gears towards Green.
The latest performance - Friday night's loss to Denver - didn't spur any more confidence in Green, who scored two points on 1-6 shooting from the field. He also added two rebounds, two assists and two turnovers in the loss.
Phoenix has layers to its dysfunction at the moment, though most believe the Suns need a change in their backcourt with a "true" point guard profile next to Booker, which isn't near that of Green. That's led to heavy discourse on Collin Gillespie starting in Green's place.
It didn't sound like Ott wanted to make any swift changes to his lineup when asked earlier this week.
"We've got to give this a little bit of grace of couple more games just in general, both sides of ball. I think we have higher standards for what we want to do," he said ( h/t Duane Rankin ).
There's not many changes the Suns can make to their starting five. Booker, Dillon Brooks and Miles Bridges are practically stamped in their roles while Green and Khaman Maluach are the two possible spots open for movement at the moment.
Bright Side of The Sun's John Voita wrote an excellent deep dive into the possibility of benching Green for Gillespie, concluding it with:
"At some point, the Suns have to decide whether they're more committed to the idea of what Jalen Green could become or the reality of what Collin Gillespie already provides. Green can still be valuable, and finding a role that maximizes his strengths should remain a priority (although, at that price tag...yikes). But Phoenix needs someone who can organize the offense, make quick decisions, execute on the defensive end, and bring consistency to a lineup desperately searching for it. Gillespie has demonstrated that he can do those things."
Ott has the power to make changes to the Suns' lineup. He also reserves the right to hold patience and let things develop. After all, we are only four games into the regular season.
Yet each loss that piles only places more pressure on Ott, and on the same side of the coin, Green to quickly reshape his game and mold himself to Phoenix's identity.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/suns/onsi as Suns Face Pressure to Make Jalen Green Lineup Change .
