Bradley Beal finally made his debut for the Phoenix Suns after missing the first week and change of the season due to injury. The Suns were in Chicago to face the Bulls looking to return to .500 after a rough start to the season. Beal played 24 minutes, putting up 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. However, Beal was completely absent for the necessary overtime period, as the team firmly stuck to their minutes plan for the veteran. The 3-5 Bulls kept it close, but the Suns were finally able to come away with a 116-115 win. Grayson Allen had a team-high 26 points, one of three Suns to reach 20.
“I can be hard-headed and go play 30 minutes when I know I’m not supposed to. But how will I feel after that? Probably not the greatest. So that’s why I lean on our staff and our doctors to be the voice for me. Because I’ll be hard-headed and go out there and play,” Beal said, respecting the decision to keep him benched. Meanwhile, new coach Frank Vogel praised Beal’s overall performance. “He was good in stretches and you could tell he was a little bit rough in stretches. We’re playing him in a way that’s tough to get a rhythm. But I really love how he competed. We’re 1-0 with Bradley Beal in the lineup,” Vogel said.
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Suns’ Season Can Really Begin
Despite being pegged as one of the teams to watch in the West, the Beal-less Suns have been slow out of the gates. Sitting at 4-4, Phoenix’s first eight games have included back-to-back losses to the Spurs and a 15-point loss to the Lakers. However, a major reason for this is not being able to play their Big Three. As mentioned, Beal has just returned from injury. Meanwhile, it’s unclear when Devin Booker will be able to return from the calf injury that has limited him to just two games this season.
Despite this, Kevin Durant is excited to have Beal on the floor now. “Just somebody else the defense is scared of. Somebody who can score at all three levels. Brad going downhill is a problem. So, as much as we can get him going downhill and also just setting him up in iso so he can beat his man will be great for us. Tonight, he just got his feet wet. He’s on a restriction minute-wise, but as he comes off of that he’s going to be more and more confident. We’ve just got to give him the ball more,” Durant said. The Suns face the Lakers on Friday.
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