The Suns, who went just 4-7 in February as they dealt with injuries affecting multiple starters and rotation players, will get some reinforcements on Tuesday in Sacramento.
As Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic relays (via Twitter), star guard Devin Booker is no longer listed on Phoenix’s injury report after missing the past four games due to a right hip strain. While the Suns split those four games without Booker available, they were clearly missing their leading scorer, having ranked 29th in the NBA in offensive rating during that stretch.
Recently signed swingman Haywood Highsmith also isn’t included on the Suns’ latest injury report, Rankin notes, which suggests he should be ready to make his season debut. Highsmith underwent surgery to address a torn meniscus in his right knee last August and experienced a setback in his rehab in October. He was traded from Miami to Brooklyn last offseason, was waived by the Nets last month, and signed with the Suns as he ramped up to return to action.
Two of Phoenix’s top wing defenders – Dillon Brooks (left hand fracture) and Jordan Goodwin (left calf strain) – remain out, so Highsmith should get a shot to earn rotation minutes now that he’s healthy.
We have more health-related updates from around the NBA:
- Pelicans forward Zion Williamson sat out on Sunday due to an ankle sprain, ending his career-high streak of 35 consecutive games played, but he’s listed as questionable to play on Tuesday vs. the Lakers and told Malika Andrews of ESPN (Twitter video link) he expects to suit up. Williamson will be motivated to appear in at least 16 of New Orleans’ final 20 games this season, since doing so would ensure he locks in at least 80% of his $42.2MM salary for 2026/27 (the remaining 20% could become guaranteed if he meets weight-related benchmarks).
- Heat forward/center Nikola Jovic will miss a fifth consecutive game on Tuesday due to a lower back injury, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Jovic says he doesn’t have any disk issues and doesn’t think the ailment is related to the stress reaction in his back that sidelined him for a significant portion of the 2022/23 season, but he admitted he’s struggling with the injury. “My back doesn’t feel good,” Jovic said. “The scan shows I got some inflammation, and one of my nerves doesn’t look great right now.”
- Warriors wing Moses Moody, who didn’t play in the fourth quarter of the team’s loss to the Clippers on Monday, jammed his wrist and injured his shoulder, according to head coach Steve Kerr, who said Moody will be evaluated further on Tuesday (Twitter link via Nick Friedell of ESPN).
- Kristaps Porzingis missed a fifth straight game with an illness on Monday and it’s unclear when the Warriors big man will return to action, Friedell writes for The Athletic. “It’s a little mysterious,” Kerr said of Porzingis’ illness. “We’re obviously working with him, and he can get some clarity, and he can kind of break through, and he can get to a point where he’s consistently healthy, but that’s something that the medical staff is working hard on with him. I’m not going to posit any medical theories anymore.”
The Warriors thought Porzingis was gonna suddenly be regularly healthy just because he was traded to them?
Nope.
It was a shot in the dark. Sort of like when they acquired D’Angelo Russell in the whole Kevin Durant thing.
You keep that high dollar salary slot so you’re able to navigate the cap. At least that’s my understanding, I could be wrong.
Bottom line there was no way they were keeping JK on the roster past the deadline. That was non-negotiable.
KP was their hail mary and the pass didn’t even make it to the end zone.
Warriors are done.
Get trounced by the Lakers at HOME and then not only can’t beat the Clippers at HOME, but lose handily ?
It’s over.
It was over as soon as Butler was lost for a year. They’ll fall to 10th and lose the play in, earning a chance at a high draft pick.
But then they’ll probably draft a 6’5″ guard…
You don’t want to get to choosie. Taking a big man where they’ll land pretty much means that they are tanking next season.
They need a Jalen Johnson type forward or a rim protecting big that can pass.
They have plenty of guards already.
They look like a team tanking. Played well the first half and then played lost again in the second half. Kerr wasn’t even coaching he just sat on the bench. Thery need to keep all their draft picks and start the rebuild. Put Podz on teh trading block. Usually he he is horrible in teh first half but this time played well in the first half and couldn’t hit anything in the second half.