The Phoenix Suns haven’t quite looked like the championship contender that many thought they would be this season. That’s mainly because they haven’t yet been able to field a healthy lineup with consistency. Both Devin Booker and Bradley Beal have missed time this season and although Booker has since returned to the lineup, Beal is once again sidelined after playing in only three games. Also on the Suns injury front is backup wing Yuta Watanabe. Watanabe missed Sunday’s game against the Jazz due to a quad injury he sustained during practice and he will be out for Tuesday’s matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers as per Kellan Olson of Empire of the Suns.
Yuta Watanabe had played in all of the Suns first 12 games before being sidelined with the quad injury. He had signed as a free agent with the Suns in the offseason after spending last year with the Brooklyn Nets. He went undrafted in the 2018 NBA Draft and got his first NBA experience on a two-way contract with the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2018-19 season. He played two seasons with the Grizzlies and two seasons with the Toronto Raptors before signing with the Nets
This season, Watanabe had been a key contributor off the Suns bench in a career-high 18.6 minutes per game. He had been averaging 5.3 points per game, 2.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists with splits of 38.2 percent shooting from the field, 37.2 percent shooting from the three point line and 85.7 percent shooting from the free throw line.
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