Phoenix Suns star guard Devin Booker has missed the past three games of his team’s first-round NBA Playoff series against the New Orleans Pelicans with a hamstring injury.
For a while, it seemed like Booker would be sidelined a couple weeks to the hammy strain. That’s no longer going to be the case.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Booker will likely play in Phoenix’ Game 6 matchup against the Pelicans Thursday evening. For the Suns’ part, they have upgraded his status from out to questionable. If all goes according to plan in pre-game warm-ups, Booker will be on the court in hopes of closing out the pesky Pelicans.
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Impact of Devin Booker return from injury
Booker injured his hamstring early in the third quarter of Game 2 after scoring 31 points in the first half. New Orleans went on to win that game and eventually make this a series before Phoenix took a 3-2 series lead in Game 5.
- Devin Booker stats (regular season): 26.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 4.8 APG, 46% shooting, 38% 3-point
As one of the top NBA MVP candidates during the regular season, it stands to reason that getting Booker back is going to be a boon. Phoenix posted a 56-12 record in the 68 regular-season games Booker suited up in. He was one of the primay reasons they posted a league-best 64-18 record en route to earning home-court advantage throughout the NBA Playoffs.
If Phoenix is able to get past New Orleans, it will take on either the Dallas Mavericks or Utah Jazz in the Western Conference Semifinals. Dallas leads that series 3-2 after a blowout Game 5 win. Obviously, having Devin Booker back at 100% to match up with Luka Doncic would be ideal for Phoenix.