The Phoenix Suns dropped their second road game of a four game trip out East on Thursday, as the Boston Celtics outlasted them 127-112. A result that also brought to an end the 5-0 run the Suns had been on when their "Big 3" of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal all scored 20 points or more in the same game. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum of the Celtics were at their best too.
Grayson Allen did chip in with 20 big points - as he has so many times this season - but Royce O'Neale laying a 0 did not help his team's cause, despite playing 27 minutes off the bench as the team's sixth man. A blow to the line of thinking that says O'Neale should actually be starting for the Suns at this stage of the season.
It looked like it could get even worse for the franchise though, as Devin Booker dropped to the floor in the third-quarter after landing awkwardly while shooting.
That Booker didn't also get a foul call when he should have after successfully shooting over Xavier Tillman of the Celtics was one thing, but seeing him grimace when he hit the deck after connecting with Tillmn was a scary sight that has been all too common this season. Booker did remain in the game though, and gave this update to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic afterwards;
"I think some shots that I take during the season, I can kind of feel somebody under me so it takes you off your balance. I don't want to prove a point just to land on somebody's foot and be out some more time. It's a dangerous play, it happens often especially for shooters. Yeah it's alright."Devin Booker
Booker saying that his ankle is alright is exactly what fans in The Valley will have wanted to hear, but that doesn't mean that he is out of the woods regarding his foot just yet. Booker only returned after four games missed in the win over the Cleveland Cavaliers to begin this trip earlier in the week, and he is known as a player who likes to gut it out and play as much as possible.
Devin Booker and Jayson Tatum making shots is fun. pic.twitter.com/kfuwvhGBos
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) March 14, 2024
Which is a great quality to have - especially in today's league when players miss games all the time - but the hope here is that Booker isn't playing through pain now, with the risk being he could miss games down the road once the playoffs begin. The Suns do also need Booker now to win games, but if they had to choose between sitting out again now or in a month, they'd obviously pick now.
The contact with Tillman was thankfully minimal, but all it takes is a tiny tweak to set somebody back. Especially when they've only returned from an issue to that same ankle. It was also an awkward landing, and one which immediately got from Booker the same kind of reaction as when the initial sprain took place, albeit for a shorter period of time.
The Suns have only 16 games left in the regular season, and one of the hardest remaining schedules of any team in the league. They need Booker to pull out some wins, but they also need him more than anybody else to be firing on all cylinders come the postseason. He led the league in scoring last season, and they're going to need more of that to have any chance of making a deep run.