Suns Get Massive Final Injury Updates For Game 1 vs Thunder

The Phoenix Suns made two final injury calls entering Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference playoff matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Mark Williams (left foot soreness) and Grayson Allen (left hamstring strain) were both questionable entering today's 12:30 PM MST tip at Paycom Center.

Williams was ruled out by Suns head coach Jordan Ott during his pre-game press conference. Oso Ighodaro will likely take starting center roles for Phoenix while rookie top ten pick Khaman Maluach will serve as the No. 2 big man.

Allen was a game-time decision but is available for Game 1. That's a big break for Phoenix in terms of spacing and guard rotation. If Allen can hit his open looks from three on top of his consistent driving presence to the rim, that should be huge for the Suns.

More on Suns vs Thunder

The Suns enter this first-round matchup as the No. 8 seed after winning their play-in tournament game against the Golden State Warriors.

Now, a mountain of a task awaits with Phoenix taking on the No. 1 seed Thunder, who are the defending NBA champions and understandably heavy favorites to move past the Suns.

And while even our own staff predictions saw OKC making quick work of Jordan Ott's crew, the Thunder weren't shy about giving the Suns props ahead of their playoff series.

“Every team you play in the playoffs is a challenge. They’re in the playoffs for a reason. Phoenix had a really good season. They were flirting with the 6th seed for much of the latter half of the season, then they dealt with some injury. They've been a team that's almost been a foregone conclusion most of the year to be a playoff team, and rightfully so," said OKC head coach Mark Daigneault.

"They've had a great season. They play a disciplined brand of basketball on both ends of the floor. They're very aggressive on defense. They're physical. Offensively they know what they like to get into. There's a reason they're here. There's a reason they're as good of a team as they are. We have a high respect for them going into this series."

Phoenix will need all hands on deck ahead of their first-round series. After seeing their lineup battle injuries all throughout the season, it will be interesting to see how the Suns are able to gel within a playoff series — let alone against the NBA's best team.

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