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Devin Booker celebrates. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
Popular guard Devin Booker left Friday’s Phoenix Suns game against the Atlanta Hawks with a sprained right ankle to make fans worry about how many games he’ll miss. Booker has done a tremendous job this season leading the Suns to a top six record in the loaded Western Conference after losing Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. Phoenix’s “less is more” strategy is working mostly due to Booker thriving as the sole superstar leading the roster.
However, the injury could set them back if Booker misses too much time. The Suns revealed that Booker will miss at least one week to recover from the ankle sprain. Booker will get re-evaluated next week to check his progress. A best-case scenario will see him returning after the week to only miss a handful of games.
Unfortunately, the one week is not guaranteed since the evaluation could also see Booker still dealing with soreness. Phoenix could announce the guard will miss a little more time, but this remains great news for Booker. Fan feared that Booker would miss a month or more since the injury didn’t look good in real time.
Can Phoenix Survive Without Devin Booker?
The Suns deserve a lot of credit for drafting and signing talent that fits perfectly around Booker. Durant’s trade from Phoenix to the Houston Rockets led to Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green both joining the Suns new core. Green has missed most of the season due to his own injuries and recently got injured again in the same game against Atlanta after three minutes of game time.
Brooks has been the team’s second-best player and is having the best season of his career. Phoenix badly needs Brooks to continue averaging 20 points as the leader without Booker’s stellar offensive production on the floor. Unfortunately, the Suns can’t survive losing Booker for too long.
An overachieving team gets the praise for their efforts, but that can easily fall apart once the top star is gone. Phoenix’s game plan revolves around Booker having an All-NBA season and the role players stepping up behind him. Suns management are crossing their fingers that Booker only misses a week before his return.
Forecasting Devin Booker’s All-Star Chances
Another interesting element of this story is the All-Star Game and if this may hurt Booker’s chances of making the roster. Booker is clearly having a good enough season to make the All-Star Team, thanks to his great stats and his ability to lead his team to more wins than anyone expected.
Five games missed so far this season and another handful this week will still see Booker playing more than enough to deserve consideration. Anyone who believes Booker deserves the All-Star nod is likely not changing their minds due to this injury.
However, the timetable growing worse if the re-evaluation goes poorly could lead to a concern. Most players sit out at the All-Star Game, if they are injured or even just still dealing with a lingering injury. Booker could opt to sit out if he makes the roster and the ankle is not 100% by All-Star Weekend.