On Wednesday night, there was much excitement surrounding the Phoenix Suns, as according to reports, this will be the first regular season game in which their new big three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal will all be playing in the same game. That, however, ended up being too good to be true. Beal ended up missing their contest against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to an aggravation of the back injury that has plagued him all season long.
This is a surprising development for Beal and the Suns, as the three-time All-Star shooting guard has suited up for Phoenix’s past three games. Beal had been ramping up his workload as well, playing in over 30 minutes for his past two games, so to see his back issue flare up is a worrying sign.
In fact, according to Duane Rankin of AZ Central, Bradley Beal woke up on Wednesday with back tightness, but approached the game against the Timberwolves with the hope that the pain would subside in time. Per Rankin, Suns head coach Frank Vogel said that he just found out an hour before the game that the All-Star guard would be out, although they do “have a plan to get him back” 100 percent healthy soon.
At this point, it behooves the Suns to err on the side of caution. After all, it is still November, so there is still a long way to go in the season. For now, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker should be enough to hold the fort. And it’s not like Beal’s absence on Wednesday night cost the Suns, as they still blew out the Timberwolves, who were on the second night of a back-to-back.
This development is still concerning nonetheless, especially when Bradley Beal’s health will be an important factor for the Suns in their quest to win the 2024 NBA championship. The Suns will also need live-court reps for their Big Three so they could get accustomed to each other’s tendencies in a much more seamless manner. While Beal’s continued back issues shouldn’t force the Suns to panic, they will want to have their third star up and running as soon as possible nonetheless.
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