The Phoenix Suns need to steady the ship as they await for Kevin Durant return which deprives them of 25 points per game. The two-time champion was sidelined again on December 4 after suffering an ankle injury early in the game and win against the San Antonio Spurs.
This is the second time the Suns lost KD to injury. The first one came when they were in Top 2 of the standings.
The team has a problem coping up with him out of the line-up as they now lost all three games without Durant in the second time.
Durant’s return is highly anticipated. The sad news though is that there’s no timetable yet for his return.
KD said he is busy rehabbing his ankle injury and is looking forward to their road trip.
As for the assurance if he will play in Friday’s game against the Utah Jazz, he can’t say yet.
“I don’t know,” Durant responded. “That’s one of those things. As we get closer to tip-off, I’ll know.”
The Suns are currently 12-11 and in the 12th spot of the Western Conference standings.
They are just 1.5 games away from the 5th spot and just half a game above the 13th spot held by 12-12 Spurs.
Kevin Durant return can fill other hole in Suns’ game
Offense is what KD offers best but to his coaches and teammates, he’s more than just a source of scoring.
Coach Mike Budenholzer said they haven’t been great on the defensive end with KD out.
“I think defensively, we’re probably not as good as we need to be to win games. We’ve had a couple of tough stretches defensively within a game. And then I think the rebounding has stood out.”
Durant is an underrated defender ever since his Golden State Warriors days.
He lists 1.5 blocks per game along with 0.5 steal before going down.
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