The Phoenix Suns will be without All-Star guard Devin Booker for at least a week as he recovers from a right ankle sprain, per The Athletic. Booker missed the Suns most recent loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder Sunday night, and will be shelved for 7-10 days as he heals the ankle.
Booker sustained the injury in Phoenix’s Saturday night loss to the Houston Rockets, where he appeared to step on Royce O’Neale’s foot as he was guarding Fred VanVleet. Booker immediately went down grabbing his right ankle, and had a major limp as he immediately walked back to the locker room.
Being without Booker for any stretch of time isn’t ideal, but especially right now as Phoenix heads into a particularly tough stretch of games with matchups against the Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers and two meetings with the first-place Boston Celtics over the next week and a half. If Booker is out for that entire stretch, it will be increasingly difficult for the Suns to come out on the winning side of things. That’s going to significantly impact the playoff standings, as the Suns are just a game ahead of the Dallas Mavericks for the seventh spot in the West. They also only sit 2.5 games ahead of the Warriors and Lakers, who hold the No. 9 and No. 10 spots. If Phoenix can’t grab a couple of wins over the next week, Booker could be returning to a team that will have to claw back up the standings if they want to avoid the play-in.
With Booker out, that’s going to put more responsibility on the shoulders of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, the latter of whom is just two games removed from being out with a hamstring strain. Beal has been in and out of Phoenix’s lineup due to various injuries, and while he hasn’t been a mainstay in the starting lineup, his most recent performance should spark some hope for the Suns. Beal finished with 31 points on 71.4% from the field and 60% from 3-point range in Phoenix’s loss to OKC. He and Durant helped lead the charge to cut down a 24-point deficit, and while it didn’t result in a win, it is promising as the Suns face some tough opponents without Booker over the next week.
