Injuries are an uncontrollable and unavoidable factor in every NBA career. Suns star Bradley Beal has had it particularly rough over the past few seasons and is now expected to miss even more time with what is being called a "sore back." Beal, 30, is allegedly still recovering from a lower back sprain he suffered last season.
"The Phoenix Suns today announced that guard Bradley Beal will be out and re-evaluated in three weeks as he continues to rehab a low back strain," announced the team on social media. "This timeline was determined following further evaluation and consultation on his injury."
The Suns obviously traded for Beal, hoping that he'd be available to contribute right away, but that just hasn't been the case so far. With just three games played this season, Bradley has barely been in the lineup and he has yet to play alongside Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. Unfortunately, this development continues a concerning trend for Beal, who has missed over 80 games in the past two seasons.
A Rough Start For Beal
At his peak, Bradley Beal was a bonafide All-Star with the Wizards, but he's been reduced to a third option now in Phoenix. With averages of 17.3 points, 3.7 assists, and 5.3 rebounds per game on 39% shooting, Beal is seeing some of the lowest marks of his entire career. While there is still time for him to clean up his act this season, fans are having doubts that he'll be ready to go any time soon.
Some fans couldn't help but draw comparisons between this Suns team and the 2021 Brooklyn Nets, a potential dynasty that completely collapsed over the span of a few months.
For the Miami Heat, who missed out on stars like Beal and Damian Lillard this summer, there is a sense of relief among their fans that they avoided shelling out assets to acquire such an injury-prone star.
At this point, Bradley Beal has been a shell of himself on the court this season but we've seen so little of him that it's impossible to say whether or not it will last. And until he returns to the court again in a few weeks, it will be impossible to fully judge the strength of this Suns team. Still, Beal's prolonged absence does reflect how fragile this team is and their depth will be tested like it never has before.
Suns Are An Early Disappointment
Coming into the season, the Suns were projected to be among the best in the West, with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal. At the very least, we expected the Suns to rank as one of the league's top offenses. Instead, they are closer to average on that end of the floor, scoring a 14th-best 113.7 points per game on 46% team shooting. At just 5-6 on the season, Phoenix sits at 9th in the standings, below the Warriors, Lakers, Kings, and Thunder (among others).
Fortunately for the Suns, both Kevin Durant and Devin Booker have looked pretty good this season. While maybe a step or two slower than usual, Durant has done an impressive job carrying an injury-riddled Suns team to a respectable record. Devin Booker has already ascended the ladder as the team's best player, but he's missed some significant time already this season with an injury. But outside of Booker and an aging Durant, Phoenix doesn't really have a third guy to rely on and that could become a serious problem when the NBA playoffs begin in April.
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