Suns Shake Up Starting Lineup Ahead of Grizzlies Game

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns have announced a significant change to their starting lineup before facing the Memphis Grizzlies tonight. Mark Williams will step into the starting five after being limited by a minutes restriction earlier this season. Williams last played in the overtime loss against the Utah Jazz, where he recorded a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds.

The Suns (1-3) also received disappointing news today regarding Jalen Green, who will miss his fifth consecutive game despite being upgraded to questionable on the injury report yesterday. Additionally, Dillon Brooks will sit out his second straight game due to right groin soreness. Head Coach Jordan Ott mentioned both players are day-to-day and confirmed that Green’s recovery has not encountered a setback.

“He was born to play basketball,” Ott said about Green. “He’s such a competitive, positive-spirited person. When he doesn’t get to do what he wants to do, there’s going to be some frustration, and that’s normal for the guys that I’ve been around. I don’t think this is anything abnormal, but we also know we got to be smart with this. And it’s an 82-game season, so he wants to get out there, he wants to get out there in a Suns uniform and hopefully soon.”

In Green and Brooks’ absence, Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale will again take their places in the starting lineup. The Suns aim to improve their slow starts, having faced significant first-quarter deficits in all their games so far this season. The complete starting lineup against Memphis will include Devin Booker, who is averaging 28.5 points and 6.8 assists. He recently achieved a season-high of 34 points and 10 assists against Utah, although he has also averaged five turnovers per game.

Allen will be making his fifth consecutive start, contributing an average of 17.5 points and 5.5 assists this season. With Green sidelined, his role has expanded, allowing him to develop his playmaking skills. O’Neale is stepping up for Brooks after a solid performance against the Jazz with 17 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, and five steals in his first start of the season.

Ryan Dunn is averaging 7.8 points and 6.0 rebounds and will also make his fifth start of the year, following limited minutes in the last game against Utah. Dunn faces a challenging matchup tonight against Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant.

Williams, who replaces Oso Ighodaro in the starting five, is expected to make a significant impact at both ends of the court. Coach Ott stated that Williams has a target number of minutes and that the team is being cautious in his return after the overtime game in Utah.

“There’s still just a target number for Mark. The other night in Utah, we went to overtime. Part of Mark’s (plan) is how he responds afterwards, and everything looked good. So that was a big hurdle for all of us, yet there’s still a target there of competitive minutes that we are looking to see from him. And then again, it’s going to be a game-by-game thing with Mark over the course of the season, because this is a long-term plan for him in his career,” Ott added.