There are great expectations for a super squad including Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, but the Phoenix Suns have not yet been able to introduce this trio of stars due to injuries.
Up to this point, most NBA teams have played 10-12 matches and have gradually shaped their playing style and player rotation. However, this is not the scenario that the “super squad” Phoenix Suns is experiencing.
Even though Kevin Durant is playing like an MVP, the Phoenix team is still struggling in the middle of the rankings with a win rate of only 53%.
Together with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant is trying hard to carry the Phoenix Suns
One of the main reasons for this unimpressive number is injuries, especially to the two pillars Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
Even more stressful for the Phoenix Suns when the medical team just updated Beal’s situation, confirming that the scoring star will have to miss at least 3 more weeks due to a lower back injury.
Since joining Phoenix, Bradley Beal has only played 3 matches. He also missed most of the pre-season training and training period, all due to injuries.
A back injury is causing Bradley Beal to miss many matches with his new team
Last summer, the Phoenix Suns shocked everyone when they made a blockbuster trade with the Washington Wizards to recruit Bradley Beal.
Besides the 4 rights to exchange first round picks, the two names that left in the opposite direction were Landry Shamet and veteran PG Chris Paul, who later transferred to Golden State.
Bradley Beal was born in 1993 and played for the Washington Wizards for 11 seasons, lasting from 2012 to summer 2023. Coming to the Phoenix team, Beal is expected to join Kevin Durant and Devin Booker to create a trio of stars. super attack”.
But because of injuries to Beal and Booker, this trio has never once stood on the same field in a Suns shirt since the beginning of the season.
On paper, the three names Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal are all excellent scoring stars with an average of more than 20 points/game in their entire career.
While two teammates have not fully recovered from their injuries, Kevin Durant is playing in extremely excellent form. The Suns’ Net Rating when Durant played was +6.6, enough to rank 4th in the entire NBA (behind the Celtics, Nuggets and 76ers).
The star born in 1998 is averaging 31.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists in 36.6 minutes per game, even more impressive is his very high efficiency with 52.8% FG and 49.2% 3PT.
But if there is only KD alone, the Phoenix Suns still lack diversity in attack and cannot play according to fans’ expectations. Because the Suns sacrificed squad depth to recruit Durant and Beal, the effectiveness of the reserve players was quite poor.
In the minutes with Durant on the field, the Phoenix Suns have the 4th best Net Rating in the entire tournament. On the contrary, this team will fall to the bottom with an index of -14.1 if KD sits out
Devin Booker has returned for 3 games and immediately and Durant have 3 consecutive victories. But to witness the best version of the Phoenix Suns, fans will probably have to wait another 3 weeks until Bradley Beal returns to the field.
This week, the Suns will face the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday, the Golden State Warriors on Thursday and the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.
