Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant is expected to be sidelined for a week with a left ankle sprain, per ESPN. Durant left Sunday’s 148-109 loss to the Houston Rockets in the third quarter, and will now miss Phoenix’s upcoming three-game road trip, which features matchups against the Bucks, Celtics and Knicks.
This is an absolutely brutal time for Durant to get injured as the Suns are on the outside looking in of the Play-In Tournament, sitting two games back in the loss column of the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings. And to make matters worse, the Suns have the toughest remaining schedule of anyone in the league, even past the week that Durant will be out. Three of their four remaining games past this week are against the Warriors, Thunder and Kings. To say Phoenix’s play-in chance are grim right now is a massive understatement.
Durant’s injury occurred with just under seven minutes left in the third when he stepped on the foot of Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. on a drive to the basket. Durant immediately collapsed and later made his way to the locker room, not to return. Phoenix trailed by 35 points at the time of the injury.
One of the game’s all-time great scorers, Durant had been on a particularly impressive heater as of late, averaging 33 points, five rebounds and four assists while knocking down 61% of his 3-pointers in the four games leading up to Sunday.
Needless to say, this season has not gone the way Durant and the Suns expected. The addition of Tyus Jones, Monte Morris and midseason acquisition Nick Richards were an attempt to shore up the point guard and center positions, respectively, while rookies Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro proved themselves worthy of rotation minutes. This was a team that thought championship contention was a real possibility with Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal leading the charge.
Instead they’re now 35-40 with seven games left in the regular season, sitting in the 11th spot in the Western Conference. With Durant missing time, the Suns’ chances of making any sort of miracle run in the postseason is hanging be an awfully thin thread.
And given the trade rumors consistently swirling this season, it could soon mean the end of Durant’s tenure with the Suns.
