In the opening quarter of the Phoenix Suns’ Wednesday night faceoff against the Toronto Raptors, a brief but concerning episode unfolded as Devin Booker abruptly left the bench and made his way to the locker room.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!It turned out that the Suns star only had to use the restroom; it seemed fans worries could be put to rest.
However, the sense of relief was short-lived, as Booker, not long after his restroom break, walked awkwardly to the Suns’ sideline, having landed on another player’s foot.
This time, the Suns’ standout guard retreated to the locker room for a different reason—to have his ankle tended to.
Despite making a comeback to the court, it became apparent that Booker’s ankle was hampering his performance. His struggles played a pivotal role in the Suns’ defeat, with D-Book managing only 8 points on a season-low 2-12 shooting.
Phoenix faced a significant 15-point deficit when Booker was on the court.
In the aftermath of the loss, Booker addressed the extent of his injury, initially downplaying it with a simple acknowledgment: “Stepped on his foot, part of the game.”
When questioned about his decision to keep playing rather than sitting out to prevent exacerbating the injury, Booker revealed his intention to serve as a decoy, stating, “I don’t know if it got stiffer, but I wasn’t going to spend the rest of the night trying to beat people off the dribble. We were still taking what the defense was giving us. They were still trapping, so I thought I could be out there, force that gravity, and get open shots for other people.”
Suns head coach Frank Vogel offered his perspective, noting that Booker was “just trying to tough it out.”
Vogel also explained how he is “concerned” about the Bookers status against the Denver Nuggets on Friday, according to Duane Rankin at AZCentral.
Given the fact that Devin Booker has already missed eight games this season due to a similar injury, there is, of course, concern that he may have to miss some more time, even if it is just as a precautionary measure.
Stay tuned for further updates.
