Deandre Ayton, just one game removed from his 25-game suspension, has sprained his ankle and been ruled out against the Thunder on Friday, because of course he did.
The Phoenix Suns can’t catch a break.
After an excruciating 25 game suspension that seemed like it would never end, Deandre Ayton came back for one game. He played…alright. He notched a double-double even though some of us felt like he could use a few lessons from Kelly Oubre Jr. when it comes to assertiveness.
But that is a conversation to be had another day, and perhaps not any time in the immediate future.
The troubled big man has been officially ruled out of Friday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a sprained ankle he suffered against the Clippers.
Ayton rolled his ankle in the third quarter and while he looked to be in some discomfort, he played through it. However, he didn’t re-enter the game in the fourth quarter, and the little voice in the back of every Suns fan’s head thought, “What if…”
Turns out that little voice was right.
More than likely, Ayton’s ankle swelled up a like a blowfish as soon as he stopped running on it, and now must wait for it to heal.
As of now, he has only been ruled out for Friday, however the likelihood is that this will keep him sidelined multiple games in a row. How many exactly, will of course depend on the severity of the sprain, which has not yet been reported.
This ankle injury has also hurt the foreheads of Suns fans everywhere because the entire fan base collectively smacked their own with the palm of their hand. The Phoenix Suns seem incapable of playing with a full roster.
It’s one thing if that is the case during a down year when tanking might be the best option long-term. But it is an altogether different scenario this season considering the Suns have shown signs of actually being good.
Being so close to a viable playoff team, and have injury after injury and bad break after bad break detail it, makes it all hurt worse than it otherwise would have.
Speaking of more bad breaks, Devin Booker and Cam Johnson are still listed as questionable with their respective forearm and hip ailments.
Tyler Johnson is probable after suffering a case of the sniffles, though. So there’s that.