PHNX Daily: Suns Have Chance to Define Season

👋 GOOD MORNING – Happy Tuesday, everyone. Can you believe the NFL season is almost over? Football goes by so fast…

But with how brutal the NFL season was for Valley sports fans, it may be a blessing to turn our attention to the Suns — except for when disaster strikes there, as well.

Phoenix may have avoided worst-case scenario with a pair of key injuries, however. We’re used to sports suffering in this state, but we may not have to suffer as long as initially thought. How the Suns handle this stretch might say a lot about who they are.

Let’s break down the latest!

— Alex D’Agostino, PHNX Sports Daily Editor

Suns May Have Avoided Worst-Case Injury Scenario

It’s been a genuine pleasure to watch the Phoenix Suns play basketball this season. I know, what a novel concept. Even when adversity has struck — and it has — they’ve responded well, and have kept the foot on the gas to maintain their hot pace.

But this next stretch could truly show what this Suns team is capable of, considering the recent bout of injury news…

Phoenix had been relatively healthy this year, with the notable exception of Jalen Green. Green missed the first portion of the season with a hamstring injury, made his return, and immediately re-injured the same hamstring. After a lengthy second absence, he returned to action, only to once again exit after one-and-a-half games in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks last Friday.

The team did use the “P” word to describe that exit (precautionary), and listed him as questionable for the next game. He ultimately did not take the court on Sunday against the Heat, but is now in the injury management stage. He’s still listed as questionable for tonight’s game, which is not ideal, but could be a sign he won’t be headed back to a multi-month absence… hopefully.

More concerningly, however, Devin Booker left that very same Friday night contest with what appeared to be a pretty ugly ankle sprain. Seriously, it looked bad. He reportedly even left the arena on crutches.

Somehow, the team’s update on Booker’s status was that he’ll be re-evaluated in just one week, which will be this Sunday. He may very well be out significant time anyway, but, similar to Green, a one-week initial timeline is slightly encouraging that disaster was avoided.

With all that said, the Suns now have an opportunity to really show who they are. They’ve been cruising, and, despite losing back-to-back games, are still eight games over .500.

But Phoenix also has a pretty busy week ahead, with three games in between now and the next Booker update. Two of those games will come against quality opponents — with the Pistons Thursday and Cavs Friday (sorry, Nets).

The Suns have been a team who has proven their grit, toughness and blue-collar-ness all season. They certainly didn’t look exceptional Sunday night without their stars, but they’ve also risen to the occasion and destroyed expectations on numerous occasions this year.

To be honest, I have a decent amount of confidence the Suns will be able to at least tread water during this stretch, but it will need to be a full-team effort. On the bright side, that’s exactly what Phoenix’s strength has been — getting the most out of their role players and bench and taking pressure off their stars.

Quick Hits

Zeroing in: It’s starting to look like the Cardinals know who their guy is. With Los Angeles now eliminated from the playoffs, Rams OC Mike LaFleur began his in-person interview with Arizona yesterday. That process will reportedly continue through today.

LaFleur is one of three reported front-runners, alongside former Falcons HC Raheem Morris and Jaguars DC Anthony Campanile. But this interview news would suggest LaFleur is the one Monti Ossenfort and co. are most interested in. We could finally know who the Cardinals’ next head coach is soon.

By the way, if you’d like to get daily updates on every twist and turn in the Cardinals’ coaching search, check out PHNX Cardinals’ coaching tracker, updated daily by yours truly:

Arizona Cardinals 2026 Coaching Search Tracker

Close Call: The No. 1-ranked Wildcats found themselves in a tight game in the final minutes, but Arizona held on for a gritty 86-83 win over No. 13 BYU on the road. Brayden Burries scored a team-high 29 points and put the finishing touches on the win with a pair of clutch free throws. Jaden Bradley contributed 26 points as the Cats move to 21-0.

UCF: Sun Devil men’s basketball is looking to get back on the right track in Big 12 play, and will get a matchup with UCF on the road at 5:00 p.m. tonight. The Knights aren’t exactly an elite squad, but they’re a respectable 15-4 on the season, and 4-3 in conference play. ASU is looking for its third conference win after snapping a three-game losing streak to improve to 11-9 overall on Saturday.