As was expected when Devin Booker left the court and limped straight back to the Suns’ locker room during the third quarter of Game 2, he has suffered a “mild hamstring strain” the Suns officially confirmed on Wednesday.
The team officially says there is no timeline for his return. However, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports that, while Booker is not ruled out for the series, it seems unlikely he plays in Games 3 and 4 in New Orleans.
Booker injured it in the third quarter trying to chase down Jaxson Hayes and get a block.
Hamstring injuries can be difficult to judge the return timeline on because a player can be pain-free and walk or even jog without feeling it, but then one explosive step during a game can lead to a major setback. As a result, teams tend to be cautious with returns from these injuries, which is why Booker missed seven games back in November with a hamstring strain.
How well the Suns do without Booker could take the pressure off his return, but the team struggled without him in losing Game 2 at home. Booker scored 31 points in the first half, but the usually clutch Suns struggled down the stretch in Game 2 without him, a game the Pelicans won to even the series. The Suns’ issues were more defensive and not executing their game plan, things they can correct without Booker, but the Suns’ margin for error gets smaller without him.
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Suns confirm Devin Booker has hamstring strain, reportedly could miss games 3, 4 originally appeared on NBCSports.com
