Kevin Durant’s Injury Could Doom Suns’ Season: What’s Next?

Hello, this is Dan Gartland. It’s impressive to see how committed the fans of the A’s remain, consistently shouting “sell the team” at every stadium they visit.

Today’s highlights in SI:AM:

Texas overpowers TCU
UConn eliminates USC
MLB’s first game in Sacramento

The Decline of the Phoenix Suns

Has any NBA team been as underwhelming this season as the Phoenix Suns? Perhaps the Dallas Mavericks come close. However, unlike the Mavericks, who still have a shot at the play-in tournament, the Suns desperately need a miracle to reach the playoffs.

With a record of 35–40, the Suns are one game behind the Sacramento Kings for the 10th spot in the Western Conference. Their already slim playoff hopes took a significant hit when Kevin Durant sustained an ankle injury and was sidelined for at least a week.

Durant’s injury couldn’t have come at a worse time, as the Suns are about to embark on a challenging three-game road trip, facing the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, and New York Knicks. Without Durant, the Suns, who have a 2–11 record, face these formidable opponents. The schedule doesn’t ease up even when they return home, with upcoming games against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors.

Even if the Suns manage to enter the play-in tournament, it’s hard to imagine them making any significant impact in the playoffs. The attempts by new owner Mat Ishbia and general manager James Jones to assemble a superstar team around Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal have not yielded the expected results. Last season, the Suns finished 49–33, ranking sixth in the West, but were swept in the first playoff round by the Minnesota Timberwolves. This led to the dismissal of coach Frank Vogel after just one season, replaced by Mike Budenholzer.

Under Budenholzer, the Suns haven’t fared any better. With only seven games left and a record five games below .500, it would take a miracle to prevent breaking their streak of four consecutive winning seasons. Durant and Booker have been standout performers, ranking sixth and ninth in the league for scoring, respectively, and are the main reasons the Suns have one of the top offenses in the league. However, their defense has been lackluster, ranking 27th in the league, a byproduct of having players like Beal, a noted weak defender, and a 36-year-old Durant.

The Suns’ future prospects are also bleak, as all their first-round picks until 2031 are committed elsewhere due to trades or pick swaps. This severely limits their ability to improve their roster, especially with high salaried contracts for Durant, Booker, and Beal through at least next season. The gamble to trade for Durant and Beal has not paid off, and the situation for the Suns is likely to worsen before it improves.

Sports Illustrated Highlights

• Texas secured its spot in the women’s Final Four with a commanding victory over TCU. Michael Rosenberg discusses how the Longhorns’ defense was crucial in reaching their first Final Four in over two decades.

• Rosenberg also reflects on the end of TCU guard Hailey Van Lith’s college journey and her revitalization at TCU after a challenging stint at LSU.

• In another Elite Eight matchup, a shorthanded USC team was overpowered by UConn, keeping alive the Huskies’ championship aspirations. It’s been nearly a decade since their last title, but Emma Baccellieri believes this might be Geno Auriemma’s strongest squad in years.

• Greg Bishop covers the Athletics’ debut game in Sacramento, where the atmosphere outside the stadium belied the excitement within, at least until the Cubs secured an 18–3 victory.

• An 18-game NFL season appears inevitable, but Matt Verderame has spoken with several coaches about the potential risks of extending an already demanding schedule.

• Jurickson Profar, one of the Braves’ key offseason signings, has received an 80-game suspension due to a PED violation.

• With the Pelicans out of playoff contention, the decision has been made to bench Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum for the remainder of the season.

Top Five Moments

…highlights from last night:

5. A home run by Luis Torrens that bounced off a Marlins player’s glove and went over the fence.
4. Twins utility player Willi Castro’s extremely slow pitches, one clocked at just 33 mph.
3. Cale Makar’s deceptive move that left the goalie motionless.
2. Elly De La Cruz’s impressive 425-foot first home run of the season.
1. LeBron James’s crucial block in the dying seconds of the Lakers’ victory over the Rockets.