More bad news for the Phoenix Suns as it was announced today that guard Bradley Beal will be out for at least the next three weeks due to a lower back strain.
Beal missed the team’s first seven games of the 2023-24 campaign, before making his debut on Nov 8th. The 6’4” shooting guard took part in 3 games posting a 17.3pts/5.3reb/3.7ast statline, but saw his injury flare up again causing the team to shut him down until mid-December when he will be re-evaluated.
The 5-6 Suns entered the year with legitimate title hopes after acquiring the 3x All-Star from Washington in the offseason. However Beal has been unable to get into an early season rhythm due to his ailing back, and has missed significant stretches of training camp, practices and the team’s first 11 games.
Making matters worse, Devin Booker has also been battling ankle and calf injuries, putting an already thin Suns roster in a precarious position through the first month of the season. Booker, 27, has only managed to take part in 3 of the team’s first 11 games as well.
Injuries, and a depleted roster following several blockbuster trades has put added pressure on 35 year old veteran Kevin Durant to shoulder the offensive load out of the gate. While Durant has performed admirably, suiting up for all 11 games and posting a 30.1pts/7reb/4.7ast statline, NBA insiders’ fears about the “top heavy” approach to Phoenix’s roster construction appear to be coming true.
Beal was originally listed as probable heading into the Suns contest vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves, but took a drastic turn for the worse in the hours leading up to the game.
“About the 60 minute mark when we had to report it,” said Suns head coach Frank Vogel about Beal’s health. “He woke up with some residual tightness in the back this morning. We were hoping it would loosen up by game time. But it did not, so we held him out.”
“They’re working diligently on getting it corrected, getting it right. It’s not gonna be perfect – backs are tricky. So it was unexpected. He had some tightness so it was a good call that he did not play, and they got a good plan to try to get him back in action.”
Phoenix would ultimately go on to win the game 133-115 behind dual 31pt efforts from Durant and Booker.
“It’s tough man. Just like I said, nobody wants to miss any games, especially when you’re the best in the game and you want to prove it every night and something’s holding you back,” said Booker after the game.
Currently occupying the 9th spot in the Western Conference standings, Phoenix will look to string together back to back wins Friday night when they travel to take on the Utah Jazz in a 10pm ET showdown.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.