On Tuesday, the Phoenix Suns lost the home-court advantage they had worked six months to earn when they lost Game 2 of their first-round playoff matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans, 125-114.
To add injury to insult, Phoenix lost arguably its best player, Devin Booker, when he left the game with right hamstring tightness in the third quarter.
He is expected to miss the next two contents, but there appears to be no timetable for his return right now.
There's still an evaluation ongoing on MRI results of Phoenix Suns All-Star Devin Booker's right hamstring, but it appears unlikely he will be able to play in Games 3 and 4 in New Orleans, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 20, 2022
Some are speculating that he may miss 2-3 weeks with his hamstring injury.
Devin Booker out 2-3 weeks with grade 1 Hamstring injury?
Man, I remember lots of Suns fans celebrating when AD got injured and they even said losing 1 star ain't a big deal. 😂Now they will know how it feels.
Pray Booker will be okay and I wish him well. pic.twitter.com/4mNqScQ4Tg
— Ryan Rueda (@iDude14) April 22, 2022
Booker was having a marvelous game to that point, as he managed to score 31 points on 12-of-19 field goal shooting and 7-of-11 from 3-point land in just 25 minutes.
He is the Suns’ chief offensive threat, and some have even talked about him getting some consideration for the regular season Most Valuable Player award due to the fact that the Suns had the league’s best record.
Without him, Phoenix will be in trouble.
Booker Is One Of The Game’s Most Feared Offensive Threats
Booker is not only one of the best scorers in the National Basketball Association, but he is also one of the game’s best one-on-one players.
He is one of the league’s most efficient players from the mid-range area, and he can get as hot as anyone.
The 6-foot-5 guard has also improved his 3-point shooting, making a very strong 38.3 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc in the regular season.
To see how important he is to the Suns’ offense, one only needs to look back at last year’s NBA Finals.
When they got blown out in Game 3, Booker went just 3-of-14 from the field.
But he played big in Game 2, Game 4, and Game 5, and the Suns were at least competitive in all those contests.
The Suns could very well knock out New Orleans in this series without Booker, as one of their greatest strengths is that they play greater than the sum of their parts.
After all, they managed to win the majority of their games even when point guard Chris Paul, their engine, was injured late in the regular season.
But it’s hard to imagine Phoenix going farther than the second round of the playoffs without their leading scorer.
Who Will Pick Up The Slack In His Absence?
Another great thing the Suns have going for them is their depth, as men such as Cameron Payne, Cameron Johnson and Mikal Bridges are capable of putting up points.
For a few games, such players are fully capable of picking up the slack and combining to give Phoenix the 110-120 points a team needs to win games against good opponents.
But beyond that, and especially against opponents that are tougher than the Pelicans, the Suns will be hard-pressed to manufacture enough offense to win.
Assuming they get past New Orleans, they will face either the Dallas Mavericks or Utah Jazz in the next round.
The Jazz have a balanced attack and a basket eraser in center Rudy Gobert, while the Mavs (if Luka Doncic is healthy) present a team that will put pressure on Phoenix to match them on the offensive end.
If the Suns are fortunate enough to reach the Western Conference Finals, there is no way they get past the Golden State Warriors (if they make it there as well) without Booker.
NEXT: Devin Booker Has Must-See Moment With A Young Suns Fan