The All-Star break is in the rearview, and as the schedule tightens and teams around the league start fine-tuning rosters and jockeying for postseason position, every night carries a little more weight. That reality applies to the Phoenix Suns as well, who currently sit seventh in the Western Conference. If the season ended today, they would be hosting a Play-In game, living in that uncomfortable middle where urgency never really lets up. Like so many teams right now, Phoenix is still chasing something close to full strength while trying to stay competitive in the standings.
That task did not get any easier on Thursday night. Devin Booker exited the first game back from the break in the second quarter and never returned. Hip soreness was the initial explanation, one that felt manageable in the moment. But the injury report for Saturday’s matchup against Orlando tells a clearer story. Booker has been ruled out with a hip strain, officially removing him from the lineup as the Suns try to navigate the early stretch of a tightening schedule.
You could see something was bothering Booker while he was on the floor, even if there was no single play that clearly set it off. Nothing obvious, nothing dramatic, simply a player who did not look right. Regardless, Booker finds himself back on the injury report once again. He has already missed time this season with a sprained ankle and a strained groin, and now a hip strain joins the list. Notably, each of those injuries has involved his right leg.
Recovery timelines for something like this can vary depending on severity, which makes projecting an exact return tricky. The hope is that it does not stretch beyond a couple of weeks, though that remains to be seen as the team monitors how he responds.
With this latest absence, Booker has now missed eight of the Suns’ last 11 games. Over that stretch, Phoenix is 4-4 without him, and 5-7 in the 12 games he has missed overall this season.
Grayson Allen, who has already missed the previous four games, is listed as questionable. He popped up on the injury report unexpectedly before tip-off against San Antonio, another reminder of how unpredictable this season has been from a health standpoint. Allen has appeared in 35 games during what has been an injury-riddled year for him.
Dillon Brooks will return from suspension, which helps stabilize things on the wing, but the Suns are still searching for footing as the calendar keeps moving and the postseason edges closer into view. Availability remains fluid, lineups remain unsettled, and the margin for error continues to narrow with every passing game.