PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers have unveiled their injury reports ahead of Sunday’s battle at Mortgage Matchup Center, which is headlined by Devin Booker.
Booker, who has missed Phoenix’s last three games with a groin injury, is questionable.
Dillon Brooks is also questionable with left achilles soreness.
As for the Lakers, Austin Reaves (left calf strain) is out alongside Maxi Kleber (lumbar strain).
More on Devin Booker’s Recovery
The Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin reported Booker was moving significantly better than previously after Saturday’s shootaround.
Suns coach Jordan Ott said Booker’s been able to do “everything” in practice leading up to Sunday.
“He did practice with us. It’s always a good sign. Now we’ll see how he responds from this. It’s probably the most he’s done. See exactly where he’s at, but everything seems to be progressing,” Ott said (h/t Rankin).
“We didn’t do player versus player, we did player versus coaches, but he was able to do everything.”
Booker’s presence would be a major boost to the Suns’ starting lineup, which has undoubtedly missed the star’s scoring ability and overall ability to generate space for players next to him on the floor.
The Suns have scored less than 100 points in two of their three matchups without Booker.
“Responding well. That’s encouraging. No issues. Practiced today. Just see exactly how it responds,” Ott added after Saturday.
Jalen Green remains out with a hamstring injury, though Suns insider John Gambadoro says Green is expected back after Christmas time.
Quick Suns vs Lakers Overview
The Suns enter Sunday’s matchup with a 14-11 record while the Lakers are 17-7. Los Angeles dropped the first matchup between the two sides previously, which is actually when Booker first suffered the groin injury.
Both squads are 1-2 in their last three games.
This is a consolation game for the NBA Cup, where the Suns fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder while the Lakers couldn’t defeat the San Antonio Spurs to advance to Las Vegas.
Luka Doncic currently paces all NBA players in scoring with 35 points per night while also ranking third in assists at nine per game. Los Angeles, as a team, are second in the NBA with a 50.7% field goal percentage.
The Suns lead the league in steals at 10.8 per game as of Saturday night.
Opening tip is slated for just past 6:00 PM MST in Phoenix.
