The Phoenix Suns will be without Luke Kennard for tonight’s preseason finale against the Utah Jazz, but the latest word on his knee is at least encouraging.
Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro reported that Kennard, who went down hobbling in Wednesday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, is expected to miss the matchup with Utah. The good news for Phoenix is that the team does not view it as a long-term issue.
“After hobbling off the court during Wednesday's game against the Spurs, Luke Kennard will sit out the Suns' preseason finale tomorrow versus the Jazz. The Suns do not expect this to be an extended absence,” he wrote on X.
Kennard arrived as one of Phoenix’s key offseason additions, brought in to help restore some of the three-point shooting the Suns lost with Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale leaving this offseason. He backed up that reputation last year by hitting 48% from beyond the arc.
Phoenix opens the regular season on Wednesday, Oct. 21 in Portland, and it remains to be seen whether Kennard will be ready by then.
There’s plenty of confidence inside the Suns’ locker room about what he can bring once he’s on the floor. Dillon Brooks was effusive about Kennard’s fit and versatility.
“I love Luke. You can plug and play him anywhere.
He has a tremendous shot, knows how to play the game and is not only a three-point shooter as you see. He can create for himself in the midrange, he’s got a great handle," Dillon Brooks said of Kennard this past weekend.
"He’s going to be another scorer for us coming off the bench. He guards, he stays in front.
He was a perfect pickup for us this offseason and I can’t wait for Phoenix to see all the types of games he’s going to have. He’s going to have some tremendous games.”
Kennard, for his part, talked this weekend about settling in with a roster that includes several players he’s still learning alongside. He said the key is building chemistry early and finding his place in the system.
“Obviously a lot of the guys I’m playing with now, they’ve been playing together and there’s a few new guys on the team this year," Kennard said this weekend.
"And I think for us it’s about being professionals and coming here, finding that role and fitting in and building connections early. And I think we’ve done that really well.
Working with these guys in practice, you know before after during, it’s a lot of different way that you can kind of integrate yourself into a system and into an entire organization. So for me it’s about being a professional building those connections and relationships.
And I think I’ve done a really good job of that so far.”
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