2:00 pm: Durant is expected to miss at least one week due to a sprained left ankle, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). That timeline means the star forward will miss at least Phoenix’s three-game road trip, which includes games in Milwaukee (Tuesday), Boston (Friday), and New York (Sunday).
7:47 am: Suns star Kevin Durant will undergo an MRI today after leaving Sunday night’s game with a left ankle injury, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link).
Coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters that Durant won’t accompany the team on its trip to Milwaukee for the start of a three-game road swing. He didn’t rule out Durant for the entire trip, indicating that his status will depend on the results of the MRI.
Durant had to exit the game after rolling his ankle when he stepped on Jabari Smith‘s foot on a drive to the basket (Twitter video link). He was helped to the locker room as he was unable to put any weight on his left leg.
Durant’s injury was part of an ugly night for the Suns, who were booed by their home crowd in a 148-109 loss to Houston. Phoenix fell to 35-40, two games behind Dallas and 1.5 games behind Sacramento in the race for the final two play-in spots in the West.
“You have to find a way to make things happen on the defensive end. You have to go and make plays offensively and desperation and all those things,” Budenholzer said, per ESPN. “They’re important, but you’ve got to go play. And we’ve got to play better.”
Durant, who finished with 11 points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes, would be an immeasurable loss for Phoenix. The West’s reigning Player of the Week is sixth in the NBA’s scoring race, averaging 26.6 PPG. Sunday’s game was only Durant’s 62nd of the season, meaning he’ll fall short of the 65-game threshold for post-season awards, including the All-NBA team, if he can’t return.
Trade speculation regarding Durant hasn’t slowed down since it was revealed that the Suns were considering offers for the 36-year-old forward before last month’s deadline. If his injury is significant at all and Phoenix fails to reach at least the first round of the playoffs, there’s a chance that he has played his last game with the Suns. He has one year left on his contract at $54.7MM and he’ll be one of the top names on this summer’s trade market.
The more immediate concern for Phoenix is finding a way to reach the play-in tournament. The Suns, who still have the league’s toughest remaining schedule, will conclude their road trip by traveling to Boston on Friday and New York on Sunday before returning home to face the Warriors, Thunder and Spurs. They will end the season April 13 at Sacramento.
“Everybody has to step up, starting with myself,” Devin Booker said (Twitter link from Rankin). “Exact opposite of what went down tonight. We have it in the locker room. We just have to pull it out.”
Which team has had the worse season?
1) Suns
2) Sixers
3) Mavs
4) Heat
Great question. I’d say Suns because they were the team with the most reasonable playoff hopes…kind of. Mavs didn’t necessarily have a bad season outside of Luka trade. Anyone who thought Philadelphia would actually be good was a moron. And Heat even with Jimmy were not going to do anything substantial. So from a basketball perspective I vote Suns. Booker and KD should get you Something!
Mavs, obviously.
From the Finals to at best the play-in.
Mavs could make the finals again, technically. Suns might not even get a chance at the postseason.
Suns got swept in the 1st rd last season, so not as far of a fall.
It’s now a race to the lottery between the Kings, Suns, Blazers and Spurs.
Mavs season is self-inflicted thanks to that awful trade. I would say Philly.
Mavs lost not just this season but the next 10
My prediction Final Standing (base on schedule)
5 Clippers
6 Warriors (this week: Grizzlies Lakers Nuggets Rockets)
7 Grizzlies
8. Mavs or Wolves
If Warriors are 2-2 this week, they are in deep trouble
2-2 seems likely the best case scenario for them.
The Grizzlies have lost 10 straight to teams with winning records and are on the B2B, so GSW is logically favored today.
Lakers and Nuggets on a B2B 3 games in 4 nights situation (Lakers with TWO days off at home, Nuggets rested).
Then the Rockets (rested).
That said, anyone unbiased didn’t expect the Warriors to get past the 2nd rd – a lot of their fans even wanted to tank rather than trade for Jimmy.
You mean Durant is hurt at a critical time in the season? Who would have imagined that….
They’ve ridden him way too hard all season long at his age out of desperation. It was inevitable he wouldn’t hold up.
Please. Players come down on another player’s foot and roll ankles frequently. This has nothing to do with KD’s playing time this season.
True, but you can’t say riding him so hard all season was smart (or, rather, ideal). Call it karma /s.
Is it the coaching, ownership, the players, or management? That should be the question of why the Phoenix Suns have imploded as a franchise just three years after having one of the best young teams and a strong future of draft picks.
It is going to take a complete re-do of this franchise, Players, they gave up the future for a 35-year-old for Durant, then added on more future draft picks for Beal at 33 yrs old, when they had a perfectly good young nucleus for the next five years to build on. Now they have a team that they cannot add to because of salary cap issues, no draft picks unless you call the lower realm of those first round picks they acquired. You have to look at ownership and management running this franchise into the ground with no real future with this roster, its not the coaching just poor roster management. Stay strong Phoenix fans going to be awhile with this roster before they can say we have a shot at a Championship. The future looks bleak.
All of the above?
> It is going to take a complete re-do of this franchise.
Dawg, IMO, that’s not possible unless the NBA steps in, like it did with Ted Stepien, taking this, metaphorically, bankrupt team from Ishbia. The NBA would create some new future 1st round picks for the franchise in order to make it saleable to another ownership group.
IMO, it’ll take another 1-2 seasons for the stakeholders to accept the reality, but the downward trends in attendance and revenue have already set in, and, because of the below reasons, will continue for the next 5 years.
1. Their 1st round pick for next 6 years will be 25-30. Won’t help.
2. Every 2nd year, they get a 1st rounder for 6 years in the future. They’ll trade it at a discount.
3. Every year, they get another 2nd rounder for 6 years in the future. They’ll trade it at a discount.
4. Over-spending on free agents ceases to be an option next year because of mounting luxury tax payments. Phoenix is too small a market to sustain operating this far in the red for long.
What do y’all think is most likely to happen.
Trade Booker
Trade Durant
Trade Beal
Run it Back (Book, Beal, Durant)
I feel like if the Suns are smart, they have to trade both Booker and Durant. Durant won’t net you a lot of draft picks since he’s older and only has 1 year left on his deal … but Booker will def get you a boatload of picks.
The funny thing here is Beal might get stuck with a tanking team again after fleeing Washington.
There’s no way you can run it back though … the vibes on the team absolutely suck. KD especially with all his passive aggressiveness.
Agree I would trade Booker, Durant, and give Beal away even if for a bunch of expiring equal contracts. At least Booker will get you some value, Durant maybe not so much at age 37. But this franchise is in dire need of some rebuild.
They won’t trade Booker, they will trade Durant but won’t get the return they want, and Beal holds the cards as far as moving him due to the no trade clause.
Id probably give up Trae & Niang for KD, Bol & a couple of 1sts
Those firsts are garbage that they hold
That was probably his last game in PHX. Ishbia thought the table scraps of some of the league’s worst teams (Wizards and Hornets) plus some G Leaguers would suffice as role players around Booker and KD as they contend for a championship. It failed miserably.
Except he’s only going to miss a week, according to Shams.
The second half of his career has been a complete waste.
Failed superteams and injuries.