PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns will be forced to navigate the next two weeks without the talents of Kevin Durant, who will be re-evaluated down the road with a calf strain.
The Suns are off to quite the start, however, entering Wednesday with a 9-2 record. Despite a couple players dealing with injuries, Phoenix’s depth has risen to the occasion under the guidance of Mike Budenholzer.
Can they keep up the hot start?
The Suns still find themselves pretty high across national power rankings this week. Note that some of these power rankings were completed before Tuesday’s win over the Sacramento Kings.
John Schuhmann: “Eight of the Suns’ 10 games have been within five points in the last five minutes, and Durant is 12-for-19 on clutch shots, with huge buckets coming against the Sixers and Heat last week. He’s just 2-for-7 on clutch 3s, but one of those makes was a completely unbothered pull-up over an earnest contest from Daniel Gafford as the Suns got a big win in Dallas on Friday. The Suns remain undefeated (7-0) in clutch games with Durant in uniform, but their seven-game winning streak ended Sunday when they couldn’t get late stops against the Kings, who scored 26 points on 16 clutch possessions.”
Duane Rankin: “The Suns will be without Kevin Durant for the next six games, minimum, with a left calf strain. The team suffered its first home loss Sunday in overtime to the Sacramento Kings. Devin Booker is dealing with an illness, Bradley Beal played through a knee injury suffered in OT and Jusuf Nurkic is having ankle issues. Depth will be tested on the Suns’ four-game road trip.”
Law Murray: “The Suns lost in overtime Sunday against the Sacramento Kings, their first game without Kevin Durant (calf). But of Phoenix’s eight wins, four have come by three points or fewer. In clutch time games (margin of five points or fewer in the last five minutes of regulation or overtime), the Suns are 7-1, with at least two more wins than any other team in the league.”
Ben Rohrbach: “On Kevin Durant’s hefty minutes load, coach Mike Budenholzer said, ‘That’s my problem,’ before sustaining that load in two more games, which ended in a calf strain for the 36-year-old. As Coach Bud added, ‘That I would say is still a work in progress.’”
Brett Siegel: “The good news for Phoenix and the reason why they have maintained their position inside the top five of the NBA power rankings is that Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and Tyus Jones are all healthy. These three stepped up in Durant’s absence on Sunday against the Sacramento Kings, and although they lost, these three combined for 73 points. Defense will be the Suns’ calling card without Durant, as Royce O’Neale and Ryan Dunn will need to step up on the wing.”
Tim McMenamin: “Rookie Ryan Dunn got bumped up to the starting lineup after Kevin Durant went down last week with a left calf strain. While Phoenix lost to the Kings in overtime Sunday, Dunn was able to contribute with 8 points on 4-of-7 shooting, 1 steal and 1 block in 21 minutes. The Suns were tied for No. 1 in the West when Durant went out; Dunn’s contributions will be crucial to staying near the top of a difficult conference while the organization waits for its superstar’s calf to heal.”
