Devin Booker has been removed from the Phoenix Suns’ injury report and is set to play Tuesday at Sacramento, ending a four-game absence caused by a right hip strain. The Suns are 3-0 against the Kings this season and can complete a four-game sweep against a Sacramento team that has the worst record in the NBA at 14-48. “We’re into March now,” coach Jordan Ott said Monday. “These games mean more and more. This is a big week for us.”
Booker’s return gives Phoenix its primary scorer back after a stretch that exposed the Suns’ offensive limitations
Booker strained his right hip during the Feb. 19 game against San Antonio and missed four straight games. He has appeared in only three of Phoenix’s last 15 games because of the injury. Ott said Monday that Booker participated in 5-on-5 work over the weekend and reported no setbacks. He leads the Suns with 24.7 points and 6.1 assists per game, and the team is 27-17 with him in the lineup this season.
Phoenix went 3-6 without Booker over a recent nine-game stretch and has already passed the preseason over/under of 31.5 wins with 34. The Suns remain seventh in the West, two games behind the Lakers for the sixth seed, with a three-game cushion over the eighth-place Warriors. Booker’s return is the priority, but Phoenix is still without Dillon Brooks (broken left hand, surgery, return expected late March) and Jordan Goodwin (calf strain), which leaves the perimeter rotation thin heading into Tuesday.
Sacramento is 2-18 over its last 20 games and running out healthy rotation players
The Kings set a franchise record with a 16-game losing streak before snapping it against Memphis on Feb. 23. They have won twice in their last 20 games and are missing Domantas Sabonis (out for the season after meniscus surgery), Zach LaVine (out for the season), and Keegan Murray (ankle). Rookie center Maxime Raynaud and guard Nique Clifford have taken on expanded roles in recent weeks, with Raynaud putting up 21 points and 19 rebounds against New Orleans before the All-Star break.
Owner Mat Ishbia has framed this season around building a competitive culture rather than measuring success strictly by record. Sacramento’s focus has shifted toward the draft lottery and evaluating younger players, but the gap between the two teams is wide enough that the Suns should be able to use this game to build momentum heading into a week that also includes home matchups against Chicago, New Orleans, and Charlotte.