Phoenix Suns star Bradley Beal will be out for at least the next three weeks as he continues to deal with a lower back strain, the team announced on Friday. The veteran guard has only played in three games this season due to this back issue, which also limited him during training camp.
Beal was acquired from the Washington Wizards during the offseason in exchange for Chris Paul, Landry Shamet and four future first-round pick swaps, with an eye on creating a new “Big Three” along with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. However, due to various injuries — Booker has also only appeared in three games — that trio is yet to play together.
As a result, the Suns have gotten off to a slow start this season, and enter Friday night’s action at 5-6, which has them in a tie for ninth place in the Western Conference.
Kevin Durant has been spectacular, averaging 30.1 points, seven rebounds and 4.7 assists on 51.4/45.5/86.1 shooting splits. Despite all of the injuries, the Suns have still been an elite team as long as Durant is on the floor. Their plus-6.6 net rating in Durant minutes would rank fourth in the league, behind only the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers.
But even with Durant playing 36.6 minutes per game — third in the league and far more than he should be playing at this stage in his career, especially given his recent injury history — the Suns are still under .500. That’s because their non-Durant minutes, which have often also been non-Booker and non-Beal minutes, have been a total disaster. With Durant off the court this season, they are being outscored by 14.1 points per 100 possessions — a mark that would rank dead last in the league.
Phoenix sacrificed pretty much any semblance of depth to acquire Durant and Beal, so it’s not a surprise that they struggle without any of their stars on the floor. It is a reminder, though, that the Suns will be more reliant on health than perhaps any other team in the league.
The good news on that front is that Booker returned from a calf injury on Wednesday and scored 31 points in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. He only played 25 minutes, so he may be limited for a time, but having him back will help lessen the load on Durant and allow the Suns to have one of their stars on the floor at all times.
Another bonus for the Suns is that their schedule over the next three weeks while Beal is out is very manageable. They have five combined games against the Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies — three of the nine worst records in the league — and as of now, the only teams with a winning record that they’re set to face are the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks.
With Durant playing at an MVP level, Booker back in action and an easy schedule, the Suns should be fine over the next few weeks.
The bigger issue with Beal’s continued absence is that it robs that trio of another three weeks of valuable reps. Even if all goes well, which is no guarantee with a back injury, it will be early-to-mid-December before they will take the court at the same time. Those three figuring out how to play together was always going to be more important than their record this season, and now they’ll have even less time to do so.
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