Amidst the triumph of their 104-96 win in a measuring stick game versus the Golden State Warriors, the Phoenix Suns endured the absence of their franchise player: Devin Booker.
His left hamstring injury seemed to occur on a drive to the basket at the 6:48 mark during the second quarter. Booker played a few more possessions after that, before exiting during a Suns timeout. He later returned to the bench, but only to cheer on his teammates, as the Suns quickly ruled out his return.
Phoenix rallied though, finishing a tough game with him on the sideline. With their victory, the Suns secured the Western Conference’s top spot, but with Booker still hurt, where do we go from here?
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Suns only expect to miss Booker for “a few games.” They want to take things slow with his recovery, looking at the situation from a “big picture” standpoint.
But even with Booker likely to return at some point, he still leaves a massive void for the time being.
The other night, Monty Williams pivoted to a starting five that featured Chris Paul, Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, Deandre Ayton, and Cameron Johnson to start the second half. He then closed the game with the original starters, but with Shamet plugged in for Booker.
But no matter what design Williams runs with to make up for DBook’s absence, it all comes back to the players, who at the end of the day are the only ones able to replicate their star teammate’s production.