After missing the Suns’ last 11 games due to a low back strain, star guard Bradley Beal was a full participant in the team’s practice today.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Beal will still be out for tomorrow’s game against the Kings, coach Frank Vogel said. The Suns want to see him stack practices and how he responds to them before making him available.
“It’s very encouraging,” Vogel said of Beal practicing. “He looked great out there. Reminder of how dynamic he is as a basketball player and how good we’re going to be when we get fully healthy.”
As for when Beal could return, Vogel said: “No timeline on how many (practices) or what that looks like, but we want to continue to make sure he’s responding well before we put him back in there. Stay away from being in and out.”
Bradley Beal was a full participant in practice today, but will be out tomorrow per #Suns coach Frank Vogel. #Suns want to see him stack practices before making him available pic.twitter.com/hSTUdPwX69
— Brendan Mau (@brendan_mau) December 7, 2023
Beal missed the first seven games of the season due to this back issue, which he suffered in the preseason, then came back for the next three. However, he re-aggravated the injury in the first half of the Suns’ game vs. the Thunder on Nov. 12, but played through it the rest of the game. He ended up missing the next contest against the Timberwolves and was later ruled out for at least the next three weeks on Nov. 17, which means his re-evaluation period ends tomorrow.
Since his return, Beal had been playing on a minutes restriction, but still averaged 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 28.7 minutes per game.
Bradley Beal (back) OUT tonight at #Lakers, but doing pregame work. #Suns pic.twitter.com/8Mp5IwUMCa
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) December 6, 2023
The Suns will also be without Kevin Durant (ankle) and Grayson Allen (groin) for tomorrow night’s game. The two suffered their injuries during Tuesday’s 106-103 loss to the Lakers.
“Don’t worry about what you can’t control,” Vogel said. “The encouraging thing for me is I feel like we’re close to seeing what our group looks like at full strength.”
Bradley Beal Goes through Pregame Workout, Could Reportedly Return Soon
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
