PORTLAND – The Phoenix Suns open the 2026-27 regular season Wednesday, Oct. 21, against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center.
Arizona Family Sports and 3TV are televising the 7 p.m. MST game.
"You always want to start off the right way," Suns All-Star Devin Booker said. "We understand it’s their home opener. This has always been a great place to play. The energy is going to be high. It’s going to be a good test for us, but I think we're ready for it.”
Suns guard Luke Kennard (left knee tendon) is listed as questionable while 7-footer Mark Williams (left shoulder surgery) is ruled out and is expected to miss multiple months this season.
The Blazers have All-Star Deni Avdija (right ankle soreness) and Micah Potter (illness) listed as questionable while Shaedon Sharpe (right meniscus surgery), Chris Youngblood (left ankle soreness) and Branden Carlson (concussion protocol) are ruled out.
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Jalen Green healthy, ready for opener
Jalen Green is having a much better start to his second year with the Phoenix Suns.
A year ago, he opened the season sidelined with a right hamstring injury that limited him to 32 games after playing every game the previous two seasons with the Houston Rockets.
Green enters his season healthy and ready to go.
“I'm excited to get to this point,” Green said after morning shootaround at Moda Center. “I was injured last year. That’s a milestone right there in itself, and then we’ve got a good group of guys who are excited and eager to win.”
The Suns acquired Green in the Kevin Durant trade before the 2025 NBA Draft.
“It's going to be exciting and fun with what we’ve put together,” Green added.
Facing Lillard, Morant, Henderson
The Suns face a Portland team strong at the guard position with the addition of Ja Morant, the return of Damian Lillard and the emergence of Scoot Henderson.
“It's going to be a challenge, but that's just like any other night,” Green said. “It’s the NBA. Every night’s going to be a challenge. They have super talented guards over there, a lot of guard play, but I think we match up just as well with any team in the NBA.”
Lillard, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, missed all last season with an Achilles injury.
“We’ve really got to lock in, dial in on defense,” Green added.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns vs Portland Trail Blazers live updates, score, analysis