The Phoenix Suns are entering a crucial part of their season. They are one of the teams bunched up in the middle of the Western Conference playoff race, as 5 teams battle for the 6th spot in order to avoid the Play-In Tournament. They have the toughest remaining schedule of any team in the NBA based on opponent’s winning percentage, and to make things even more difficult, they will be without guard Devin Booker for at least the next week, if not more.
Devin Booker Will Miss At Least 7–10 Days
Update on an expected timeline on Phoenix Suns All-Star Devin Booker’s right ankle sprain: pic.twitter.com/psi2abAm6r
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 4, 2024
Booker and the Suns were attempting to mount a late comeback against the Houston Rockets on Saturday night when he fell to the floor clutching his ankle. He tried to put weight on it, but immediately limped to the locker room in obvious discomfort. Booker was then ruled out of the following day’s contest against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and it was announced on Monday that he will miss at least the next 7–10 days before being re-evaluated.
Aside from the playoffs themselves, the injury couldn’t have been come at much of a worse time. Over the next 10 days, Phoenix is set to play against some of the toughest teams that the NBA has to offer. First, they’ll travel to Denver to take on the surging Nuggets and Nikola Jokić, followed by a home game against the Raptors on Thursday.
The following three games are brutal. On Saturday, the Suns will take on the red-hot Boston Celtics in a prime time game on ABC, then they’ll hit the road with the first stop being against the 2nd place Cleveland Cavaliers. Two days later, there will be a rematch in Boston against the league’s top team.
Suns Will Play Against Nuggets, Celtics, Cavaliers Without Booker
Devin Booker headed to locker room with apparent injury
Hope he’s okay 🙏 pic.twitter.com/3nG7wPLxha
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 3, 2024
Will they play all of those games without Booker’s services? The shortest window on his timeline is 7 days, which would force him to miss at least the next three, and his status for the game against the Cavaliers next Monday would be questionable. If the time frame ends up being on the longer side, then he would likely be out for all of the aforementioned contests.
The Suns will have to find a way to stay afloat without him. They’ve dealt with plenty of injuries throughout the year, but Booker has been mostly healthy since missing 8 of the first 10 games of the year. He is second on the team in points per game, though his 27.5 is only slightly behind Kevin Durant’s 27.8 average.
The Suns enter the week as the 7th seed in the West, just percentage points behind the Kings in the 6th spot. But they have to worry about what lurks behind them as well, as the Mavericks are a game back, and both the Lakers and Warriors are both 2.5 behind.
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