Phoenix Suns Injury Report (Dec. 13): Latest on Bradley Beal and Devin Booker’s availability

Bradley Beal and Devin Booker played key roles in the Phoenix Suns’ thrilling 119-116 win over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday (Dec. 12). Beal played after missing the team’s previous 12 games due to a low back strain. Suns coach Frank Vogel told reporters before the Warriors encounter that the star shooting guard was under minutes restriction. “Big Panda” ended up playing 27 minutes, scoring 16 points on 5-12 shooting.

Ahead of the game against the Dubs, Beal told the media that he was planning to play on the second night of Phoenix’s back-to-back games. The three-time All-Star will be pushing to see action when the Suns host the Brooklyn Nets less than 24 hours after beating the Warriors.

The Phoenix Suns have been very careful with Bradley Beal. He has reportedly been a full participant in a few of the practices before playing against the Golden State Warriors. Phoenix didn’t want to rush him and wanted to monitor his minutes. The team will carefully evaluate him before giving him the go-signal to suit up on Wednesday.

Devin Booker, meanwhile, has been available in the Suns’ last four games. The last time he was unable to play was on Dec. 1 against the Denver Nuggets.

Booker has been healthy since then. In his last four games, he has been averaging 28.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.0 steals. He is hitting 50.0% of his shots, including 52.9% from deep. Despite the constant double-teaming, he has been deadly accurate.

---

What happened to Bradley Beal and Devin Booker?

Bradley Beal first suffered a lower back injury in the preseason. He missed the Phoenix Suns’ first seven games due to this. On Nov. 12 against the OKC Thunder, “Big Panda” aggravated it. Phoenix did not give a definite timeline for his return once the team knew about the back strain.

Beal has been on the sidelines over the last 12 games before returning against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday. He has already indicated his readiness to play his first back-to-back set of the season when Phoenix hosts Brooklyn.

Devin Booker dealt with a sprained ankle when he missed the head-to-head against the Denver Nuggets. He injured it in the previous game versus the Toronto Raptors. The superstar guard played 33 minutes but went just 2-12 for eight points. Phoenix promptly shut him down in the aforementioned encounter with Denver.

---

Bradley Beal and Devin Booker’s stats vs the Brooklyn Nets

Bradley Beal has faced the Brooklyn Nets 28 times. He is averaging 22.1 points, 4.0 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game against them. Beal was still with the Washington Wizards when he went up against the Nets.

Devin Booker has averaged 21.7 points, 3.6 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 15 games against the Brooklyn Nets. He had 19 points, six assists and four rebounds when he last squared off with them.