NEW ORLEANS — Suns hit the practice floor in New Orleans ahead of Friday’s Game 3. No surprise, Devin Booker did not practice with that Grade 1 right hamstring strain.
ESPN is reporting Booker will be out 2-3 weeks, meaning he will miss the rest of the series against the Pelicans.
Booker scored 31 points in the first half of Game 2 before leaving the game early in the third quarter. The Pelicans then rallied for a 125-114 victory to tie up the series 1-1.
"It is a finicky injury,” said Suns head coach Monty Williams. “If you’ve ever had one (a hamstring injury), you know you can feel really good until you start doing what NBA players are required to do. It's one of those deals that he's had multiple times in his career. We just have to wait and see how he progresses over the next, whatever, many days."
"That’s our leading scorer," Suns guard Chris Paul added. “The guy we thought should’ve won MVP this year. Without him, I think a lot of guys probably think you got to do more, but we just got to do more together. Not individually, and I think we’ll find a way to do that.”
Pelicans guard CJ McCollum shared his thoughts on Booker's injury and on their preparation for the rest of the Suns' personnel.
“It’s a different animal," McCollum said. "They’re still a very good team. Book is obviously a special, special talent and I hope he gets back as soon as possible. Injuries are a terrible part of the game. What I’ve told the team many times is a wounded animal is different than a healthy animal because you don’t know what to expect.”
The Suns have dealt with injuries to key star players all season long, but that didn’t stop them from winning a league-best 64-games and being one of the best road teams in NBA history.
“There’s no comfort not having Book on the floor,” said Williams. “But we also know we’ve been able to do it without Book, Chris, DA from time to time. Everybody has missed games, except Mikal Bridges. We’ve been able to negative those situations and we know we can do it.”
Forward Cam Johnson is expected to start in Booker's place, according to Arizona Sports 98.7 FM John Gambadoro.
Along with going to practice and being the only Arizona local TV station in New Orleans with the Suns, Team 12’s Lina Washington hit the town to see if the Big Easy has any love left for Monty Williams and Chris Paul.
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