Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal are back.
The Phoenix Suns stars are expected to return from injuries in time for Tuesday’s nationally televised NBA Cup game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Head coach Mike Budenholzer said on Sunday that Durant and Beal had a “good day” in 5-on-5 practice and that they’d “hopefully” be able to play on Tuesday.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday that both plan to play in the game that will be televised on TNT.
Durant has missed the Suns’ last seven games with a calf strain. Beal has missed five consecutive games, also with a calf injury. The Suns are 1-6 since Durant’s injury and have lost five straight games with both players absent from the lineup.
Phoenix got off to an 8-1 start prior to Durant’s injury. They’ve since dropped to 9-7 in eighth place in the Western Conference.
Durant, 36, remains one of the game’s elite players when healthy. In nine games this season, Durant’s averaged 27.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.4 blocks while shooting 55.3% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point distance.
Beal, 31, was also playing well prior to his injury. In nine games this season, he’s averaged 17.8 points, four rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 47.5% from the field and 38.3% from 3-point distance. Both are critical to the Suns’ hopes of competing in a stacked Western Conference this season.
In Tuesday’s game, the Suns will look to improve on a 1-1 record in NBA Cup play while the Lakers will seek to keep their perfect 2-0 Cup record intact in defense of their 2023 Cup title.