Ayton’s injury is latest in long list for Suns
OKLAHOMA CITY — Deandre Ayton stood and watched the conclusion of the Suns’ shootaround Friday morning from the sideline at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
That’s not where the Phoenix Suns want to see him.
They were excited for his return from a 25-game suspension, but Ayton is already “day-to-day” after suffering a sprained right ankle in his return game Tuesday against the Clippers.
He’ll miss Friday’s game at Oklahoma City and continue Phoenix’s string of early season injuries, but Monty Williams put perspective on a situation that looks gloomy.
“It could be worse,” Williams said. “He could be out for the season, something crazy like that. We have young players learning how to play a tough, rugged style of basketball. It takes a lot out of your body and I’m mindful of that part. It’s hard. At the same time, I think you have to grieve a little bit, you have to think about and process it, but you can’t stay there.”
Williams said he feels bad for Ayton and the team and he understands how the injuries impact team’s continuity but added the Suns (11-16) can’t dwell on it.
“We have to move on to the next game, next practice, next video session and try to be productive,” Williams said.
Besides, Williams has been here before going back to his days in New Orleans.
“If you look at the games missed there, you’d be blown away by how many players didn’t play in games,” Williams said. “I had Jrue Holiday for two years and barely coached him because he was out like 80-plus games. The games he did play, he was on minutes restriction. So I never really coached him.”
Holiday played a combined 74 regularseason games over the 2013-14 and 201415 seasons, which were Williams’ last two in New Orleans.
The Pelicans still made the 2015 playoffs despite Holiday missing 40 games and Anthony Davis sitting 14.
“We were out of the playoffs like three games with two or three weeks left in the season and we ended up making it on the last night,” Williams said. “You’ve just got to stay with it. You can’t give into feeling sorry for yourself and going back to old habits. It’s not the way to go. It’s an easy route, but our guys have done a good job of staying the course and that’s the perspective we’ve had the last few days.”
Devin Booker understands that view, but that doesn’t make it easier to handle losing games with a short bench.
“You know every game matters,” Booker said. “You say put in perspective, but I know there are teams, I haven’t been in that situation, but there are teams that miss the playoffs by a few games and go, ‘Oh, I wish we would’ve won that one, or ‘Oh, I wish we would’ve won that one.’ “
Phoenix is 1-5 in games decided by three points or less with two of those losses coming in overtime.
“That’s hard to take and we have to better, but perspective is something that we’ve talked about and will continue to talk about as we go forward,” Williams said.
Booker missed three games in a row because of a right forearm contusion, but returned Friday against the Thunder as did rookie Cam Johnson (hip).
Booker has missed three games in a row because of a right forearm contusion, but returned to the court Friday against the Thunder. Cam Johnson also returned after dealing with hip soreness.
Booker revealed the initial pain started in the Dec. 7 loss at Houston.
“It was a sweep through, a little bump and bruise,” Booker said. “Sweep through a few games ago, but it’s getting better every day.”
Before Booker was sidelined, Ricky Rubio (five games) and Aron Baynes (nine games) missed time with injuries. Kelly Oubre Jr., Dario Saric, Frank Kaminsky and Mikal Bridges are the only Suns to have appeared in every game this season.
“It’s not many players playing 82 games,” Booker said. “It’s going to be those spots and times throughout the season when you just feel like you can’t catch a break and I think how we handle ourselves in the situation and how we respond and how the players respond, next player up mentality, determines a team’s success because everybody is going to go through it at some point in the season.”
Phoenix’s 7-4 start suddenly raised the level of expectations to the point playoff possibilities became a topic of conversation. The Suns haven’t made the postseason since 2010, but looked like a playoff contender before the injuries started piling up.
The narrative could easily change once the Suns are healthy again, though.
“If you looked at the playoff race and it ended today, we’d be two games out,” Williams said. “Nobody guessed we’d be in this position. We haven’t had our full team.”
Ayton had 18 points and 12 rebounds in 24 minutes on Tuesday, but he injured his ankle in the third quarter and didn’t play in the fourth.
“I tweaked it a little bit,” Ayton said after the game.
Phoenix took Wednesday off after playing back-to-back games.
The following day, Ayton was ruled out of Friday’s game.
“I didn’t find out that it was a day-today thing until after the game and really the next morning,” Williams said. “I thought he just rolled it a little bit and he would be OK, but when I saw him walking the next day, I was like, ‘OK, it’s a little more than I thought, but it’s his first game back.’ That’s a touchy time for games. You can’t duplicate an NBA game.”
Phoenix plays Denver on Monday to complete a stretch of five-games in eight days, including a game in Mexico City.
Then, the Suns won’t play again until Dec. 27 at Golden State where they’ll begin a four-game road trip that ends New Year’s Day against Lakers in Los Angeles.