The Phoenix Suns have yet another injury to deal with as star guard Devin Booker will be out for at least two games with left groin soreness. This is a huge blow for the side, as they had just welcomed back Bradley Beal from a two-game absence of his own. Booker’s injury occurred early in the second half of Thursday night’s loss to the Indiana Pacers and he did not return after the five-minute mark of the third quarter.
Suns Star Devin Booker Out At Least 2 Games as Injury Woes Continue
Booker Hopes to Return for Christmas Game
While Booker will miss his first games of the season, he and the team hope the setback is not serious. The Suns announced he will miss Saturday and Monday’s games against the Detroit Pistons and Denver Nuggets. However, he will be re-evaluated early next week, giving him a chance to return for the Christmas Day rematch against the Nuggets.
Beal and Kevin Durant have missed significant time this season, leaving Booker to carry much of the load for a struggling team. After a strong 8-1 start to the campaign, the Suns now stand at 14-12 and are ninth in the Western Conference. In 26 games, the 28-year-old has averaged 25.1 points and 6.4 assists, though has had somewhat of an underwhelming start given his expectations. That said, it seemed like he was returning to his elite self in recent weeks, producing 26.6 points per game in his last 10.
It has been a familiar, frustrating story for the Suns when it comes to injuries, particularly for the big three. Before the Pacers game, in which Booker got hurt, the trio of Booker, Beal, and Durant had played together in just 10 of the Suns’ 25 games. It is a problem that has plagued them over the last 18 months. Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler is reportedly keen on a move to the Suns. The longer these issues persist, the more intriguing a potential trade gets for the front office, particularly due to the greater fit and Beal’s inability to stay on the court.
Booker’s Christmas Misery
Booker’s latest injury marks another absence in December. The last time the Suns faced the Nuggets on Christmas Day in 2022, he played just five minutes before being ruled out for the remainder of the game. He had missed three games before this with a similar left groin issue and returned against the Nuggets only to aggravate the injury. This caused him to miss a further four weeks and 21 games.
This upcoming stretch for the Suns is crucial as they seek to keep pace with the rest of the West. They are just 2.5 games back from the Dallas Mavericks, who occupy the fourth seed. However, they are only half a game up on the San Antonio Spurs, who are just outside the play-in seeds. Disappointingly, they have been losing games they should be winning, most recently against the 13-15 Pacers. They had already lost to the bottom-seed New Orleans Pelicans, who have just five wins on the season.
To will attempt to put that right against the Pistons, who have a bottom-five record in the Eastern Conference. But they will have to do so without their franchise star Booker. Despite their desperation for wins, it is hard to imagine the Suns rushing him back like they did two years ago, especially with such a delicate injury. For now, they will hope that Durant and Beal can lead them in his absence, as they try to overcome their inconsistencies.
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