With Devin Booker (ankle) and Jalen Green (hamstring) both sidelined, the Suns are navigating a tough stretch without two key pieces of their backcourt. Booker, who’s been the engine of the offense all season, is averaging a team-best 25.4 points and 6.2 assists. His absence doesn’t just take scoring off the board - it changes the entire geometry of the floor.
“When he’s in the game, I think it simplifies the way we get open looks,” Grayson Allen said. And he’s right.
Booker’s ability to draw attention, manipulate defenses, and make the right read opens up opportunities that don’t show up in a box score. Without him, the Suns are still generating decent looks, but sustaining that kind of offensive rhythm for a full 48 minutes is a different story.
As for Jalen Green, it’s been a frustrating season. He’s only logged four games so far and managed just four minutes in his latest appearance before tightness in his right hamstring flared up again. That same hamstring has been nagging him since training camp - now re-tweaked or reinjured for the third time.
“When he’s ready to play and he feels good, he’ll be back out there,” said head coach Jordan Ott. “He’s 23 years old.
He wants to feel right.” It’s a cautious approach, and understandably so.
Green’s got a long career ahead of him, and making sure he’s 100% before returning is the smart call, even if it means short-term growing pains for the Suns.
Around the Pacific Division
The Lakers are still without Austin Reaves, who’s recovering from a left calf strain suffered on Christmas. He won’t be available for Wednesday’s matchup against Cleveland, but there’s optimism he could rejoin the team later on their current road trip. L.A. has three more stops before heading home from this eight-game marathon, and getting Reaves back - a key secondary playmaker and defensive glue guy - would be a welcome boost.
Meanwhile, over in Clipperland, John Collins is hearing his name pop up in trade rumors, but he’s not sweating it. The 26-year-old big man is on an expiring $26.58 million deal, which makes him a potentially valuable trade chip. But Collins is hoping to stick around beyond the deadline.
“I’m hoping things are great. It feels like we are,” he said.
“Playing well doesn’t hurt.” And he’s not wrong - Collins has been solid this month, averaging 15.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks.
The Clippers are surging, and Collins has been a big part of that uptick. If the chemistry’s good and the production is there, there’s a case to be made for keeping the band together.
Speaking of big men making noise, Ivica Zubac enters tonight’s game against the Jazz riding a five-game double-double streak. His standout performance came in a win over the Lakers, where he dropped 18 points and pulled down 19 rebounds.
Head coach Tyronn Lue praised Zubac’s ability to dominate against smaller lineups, saying, “Zu did a really good job of just showing his presence as a big man. It was huge for us.”
In a league that’s constantly shifting toward small-ball and perimeter play, Zubac’s physicality and consistency in the paint are giving the Clippers a different kind of edge - one that’s proving to be a difference-maker during this midseason push.