Nearly one week after Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant suffered an ankle injury, some very positive news headed the Suns' way. Before Sunday's game against the Orlando Magic, head coach Mike Budenholzer told AZCentral's Duane Rankin that the Phoenix forward is trending in the right direction toward playing.
“We feel like the reports that we're getting back are very positive,' Budenholzer said. “We'll see how the next day or two go and I think re-evaluate him. It'll be good for us to get back and give him some love. He'll probably give us some love. It's always good to be around Kevin. He's good for our spirit.”
The Suns are 1-9 without Durant this season, a woeful metric to say the least. Even with Bradley Beal and Devin Booker rounding up the Big 3 with Durant, the two stars haven't produced. Although there's been a plethora of reasons for the struggles, they still don't add up. Some of them stem from issues throughout the season. Durant mentioned the Suns' mental lapses during their loss against the Brooklyn Nets. Some of those are still occurring, this time without Durant.
Suns desperately need Kevin Durant back from injury
As mentioned earlier, Phoenix is 1-9 without Durant. The only win came against the 5-18 Utah Jazz, who have the second-worst record in the Western Conference. The Suns have played quality teams like the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks, but the effort in those games was inexcusable. Both teams trapped Booker and Beal an insane amount and forced them to take bad shots. Role players have stepped up, but it's been clear that the offensive engine is run through Durant.
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His ability to score at all three levels and attract so much attention does wonders for his teammates. Beal and Booker are great scorers in their own right. However, they have less attention drawn to them because of Durant's presence. Each game he misses is almost another loss. The Suns are 12-11 and have the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference. Even though the playoffs aren't until April, continuous losing makes that mark harder to reach.
Regardless, Phoenix has a lot of the season left and has found support from their role players. Guys like Royce O'Neale, Mason Plumlee, and Oso Ighodaro have been critical during this stretch. If another injury comes Durant's way, the organization will know who's able and ready to rise to the occasion. For now, the Suns will hope that Durant will be ready on Friday against the Jazz.