Second-year Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green has been a fascinating case study over the last 13 months.

Between missing 50 games in 2025-26, to struggling to find footing as a scorer in Phoenix, the partnership hasn't always been smooth sailing.

However, Monday night's game gave Suns fans and the front office reason to believe in the faith shown in the 24-year-old paying off. 

The optimism isn't meant to slow down concerns surrounding the sixth-year guard. The 6'4" guard remains a wildly volatile scorer, and is actually experiencing a career-low in volume in this department.

The marks of 11.0 PPG on 22.2% three-point shooting and sub-50 percent free-throw shooting is inexcusable. 

An overarching theory that Green would improve in year two within the offensive system of Jordan Ott. Whether this slow start is due to working his way into a starting arrangement that features multiple ball-dominant players, is an issue of confidence, or signifies that he would be optimized as a sixth man is up for debate. 

The issue at hand is still within scope and must be addressed. 

The over-arching concern cannot blur out the positive signs that the former lottery pick put on display on Monday night against the Golden State Warriors.

Green's raw starts (eight assists, two blocks/steals) looks impressive at the surface, but doesn't quite do justice to his impressive play on the playmaking and defensive fronts.

But looking beyond the stats, Green was frequently impacting the game on a possession-by-possession basis. Take this specific possession for example. Green - late in the fourth quarter - made a decisive decision to swing the ball to Miles Bridges directly following an on-ball screen from Oso Ighodaro. This choice led directly to a hockey assist, as Devin Booker connected on a mid-range jumper from the short corner just seconds later.

Green was steadfast and aggressive when it came to pressuring the ball on the defensive side of the ball as well. A ferocious close-out on Brandin Podziemski led to a steal/fast-break opportunity that was capped off with a put-back dunk by Green. 

If Green is able to consistently recalibrate himself to play whatever role the Suns need him to on a game-by-game basis, there's a real chance that the team will be able to find footing in the weeks ahead, even through facing definitive challenges.