The Phoenix Suns will be without Devin Booker for the final three games of the season, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports. The team will shut down their star guard after the 22-year-old suffered a scare in a blowout loss to the Jazz on Wednesday night.
The ankle injury is the latest in a series of setbacks for Booker who also missed time this year nursing hand and hamstring issues.
As Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic describes, Booker rolled his ankle on the foot of Jazz forward Royce O’Neale while working in the post. Booker has been effective with his back to the basket of late and even entered Wednesday’s contest averaging 45.5 points per game over the previous four contests.
All told, Booker will finish 2018-19 with 64 games played and a career-best 26.6 points per game.
The absence of the first-class perimeter scorer will put the Suns in a precarious position as they brace for contests with the Pelicans, Rockets and Mavericks. With an 18-61 record, the club would need to win out in order to prevent this year from going down as Phoenix’s worst since Booker was drafted in 2015.
Currently the Suns have the second-worst record in the NBA, a 14% shot at the first-overall pick and a 52.1% chance of landing in the top four.
