Bradley Beal is set to miss at least three weeks with a lingering back injury. The team announced that Beal will be reevaluated in three weeks regarding the injury that saw him sidelined for the first seven games of the season.
The Phoenix Suns season has not had the lightning start that fans would have hoped for. This is due to injuries to both Beal and Devin Booker. Beal has only played three games for the team, with the excitement over a big three in Phoenix been hindered by the star’s struggling health.
The big three of Booker, Beal and Kevin Durant have not played a single regular season game together, with injuries also seeing Booker only play in three of the Suns’ twelve games this season.
While the season is still young, the injury setback to Beal is reason for concern for the Suns. Phoenix are sitting with a disappointing 6-6 record, which has come as a result of some massive Kevin Durant performances. With Beal not being reevaluated for another three weeks, the Suns will have played another 9 games before Beal is assessed for a potential return.
This will mean by the time Beal is even considered for a return, the Suns will have played a quarter of the regular season with their biggest trade pickup of the offseason only playing in three of those games.
There will still be a massive amount of regular season games left to play, however the Suns will likely need to find their groove on the court with the big three playing minimal time together. Fans have witnessed in the past week that superstar transitions are not always easy, with James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers struggling to find their groove.
Beal has had injury concerns in the past. In the 2021-22 season, he was shut down in February to have surgery on his wrist and he also missed 32 games in the 2022-23 season. This resulted across the two seasons Beal playing a total of 90 games out of a possible 164 games, nearly missing an entire season worth of action in the two season span.
Phoenix Suns coach Frank Vogel said they discussed taking considerable time to address Bradley Beal's back when he 1st started having issues.
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) November 18, 2023
Re-evaluated in three weeks.
"Playing in the games was slowing down his progress for really trying to put this thing behind him." #Suns pic.twitter.com/p1hOpyFo0t
If the Suns are going to be successful in their championship pursuit, they will need to have all three stars on the floor. Beal has looked good during his short time with the Suns, averaging 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game in his three outings.
While it remains to be seen how this new big three will fit together, more time on the court would definitely be preferred for the team to build chemistry and compete for a championship. Phoenix currently sit outside the top eight in the early parts of the season.
This time is used for team’s to figure out rotations and whether their lineups and current playing group will work throughout the season. Figuring this out for Phoenix becomes increasingly difficult if they cannot have their full squad on the floor. With Durant’s recent injury history as well, there is a chance that KD will need to miss time either through rest or injury concern.
The big three at Phoenix certainly has a high ceiling and could go all the way, but team chemistry comes from playing games together. This becomes increasingly difficult when injuries get in the way. For Suns fans, we can only hope Beal’s three weeks away gets him physically ready for the rest of the season and the championship pursuit.