Suns wing Damion Lee, who underwent right knee surgery last month, is still using crutches, but will be “off of them very soon,” head coach Frank Vogel said on Thursday (Twitter video link via Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic).
At the time of Lee’s procedure, the Suns didn’t offer any sort of timetable for his recovery process, simply stating that more updates would be provided “as appropriate.” Asked on Thursday if he had a sense of whether the 31-year-old might be able to return in December or January, Vogel still wasn’t able to share any specifics.
“This year hopefully though,” Vogel said, referring to the 2023/24 season (Twitter link via Rankin).
Here’s more on the Suns:
- Star forward Kevin Durant has been listed as questionable for Friday’s game in Memphis due to right foot soreness, Rankin writes for The Arizona Republic. It sounds like a decision will be made on his availability closer to game time.
[UPDATE: Durant has been ruled out, per Rankin.] - Suns big man Drew Eubanks, who left Wednesday’s game due to a left ankle injury, has been ruled out for Friday, with the team designating the ailment as a sprain, tweets Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports. In addition to Lee and Bradley Beal (back), who are sidelined with longer-term injuries, the Suns will also still be without Yuta Watanabe, who will miss a fourth consecutive contest due to a quad contusion.
- Phoenix is playing its final in-season tournament game on Friday vs. Memphis and remains in the hunt for the Western Conference’s wild card spot despite losing Group A to the Lakers, Rankin writes. A victory would result in a 3-1 record in group play, but it may need to be a blowout win to advance to the tournament quarterfinals, since they’d almost certainly need to win a point differential tiebreaker (Twitter link).
I dont know if its just me but i think the in season tournament is playing a part of some of these injuries as bodies are not prepared to these grueling playoff atmosphere early this season. Conditioning is the key.