Suns Will Start Grayson Allen vs Warriors
PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns will be without Bradley Beal tonight, officially confirmed by head coach Frank Vogel ahead of the team's season opener against the Golden State Warriors.
The Suns will be starting Grayson Allen in place of Beal.
Beal is dealing with lower back tightness and was previously considered questionable heading into tonight. He missed multiple preseason games with the injury, which included the preseason finale against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Suns also put Devin Booker on the injury report with a toe injury, though he previously told AZ Central's Duane Rankin earlier in the day he was going to play.
Now, Phoenix's starting lineup will feature Booker, Allen, Kevin Durant, Jusuf Nurkic and Josh Okogie, though the final starting spot between Nurkic and Durant hasn't officially been won by anybody and is likely going to be fluid depending on performance.
Vogel previously had nice things to say about Allen, who was in contention himself to become a potential starter.
“Those guys are capable ball handlers, Grayson (Allen) in particular, showing me something offensively, especially when those guys [Durant, Beal, Booker] are out, he can really carry the load for us," said Vogel earlier in the preseason.
"When he is on the backside, with those guys scoring, he can really give us a different dynamic."
More on Allen from our own Kevin Hicks:
"He figures to be a key cog in the Suns' rotation all season, especially throughout the playoffs. Allen's shooting ability, sneaky athleticism/ability to pressure the rim, and tenacious defensive effort are key reasons why the Suns were so high on the prospects of acquiring his services."
Suns-Warriors will tipoff at 7:00 PM Arizona time.
