The Phoenix Suns delivered arguably their most meaningful regular season win of all-time last night. Tying a franchise record with 17 straight victories and seizing the Western Conference’s top spot, the Valley Boys prevailed over the seemingly unbeatable Golden State Warriors, MVP-frontrunner Steph Curry, and the loss of superstar Devin Booker.
With roughly two minutes to play during the game’s first half, Booker drove hard toward the basket, threw up a layup attempt, and then hopped gingerly off to the side, clutching his hamstring. The Suns immediately yanked him from the contest, and soon announced that he would not return.
Even as Phoenix went on to win the highly anticipated showdown, the unknown severity of Booker’s injury felt like an irremovable and unignorable blemish on top of the masterpiece which the team just crafted. But this afternoon, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski provided an update, delivering some good news with all things considered.
According to the report, Booker will miss a few games, but the Suns still consider his injury “minor” and just want to take the patient route with his recovery.
As I just reported on NBA Today with host @malika_andrews: Suns star Devin Booker is expected to miss a few games with his left hamstring injury, per sources. It's considered minor, and Suns plan to err on side of caution with a long way to go for a team with title hopes.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 1, 2021
With the Suns just over a month into their regular season campaign, this decision feels wise, especially when considering how the same injury derailed fellow shooting guard James Harden during last year’s playoffs. If Phoenix indeed wants to challenge for their first ever NBA title this season, they without question need Booker by their side, so his preservation easily takes priority over these next few games.
Make no mistake though, the Suns will surely miss Booker for however long this stretch goes for. He currently leads the team with 23.2 points per game—accounting for 20.7 percent of Phoenix’s scoring offense. He also finds himself shooting above 40.0 percent from deep for the first time in his career—adding the final stone to his infinity gauntlet of offensive firepower.
With Book unavailable, expect Chris Paul to fill the void. Although CP3 seems more focused on working as a facilitator this year for the Suns, he has flashed an ability to score whenever he pleases. Watch for him to go full throttle.