How Dillon Brooks’s Injury Affects Suns, Western Conference Playoff Picture

The Suns have been one of the most surprising success stories this NBA season.

Expectations were low for Phoenix after the franchise was forced to finally pull the plug on the team’s “superteam” era featuring Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal; Durant was traded and Beal was waived last offseason after three disappointing years together. Most figured the Suns would be quietly mediocre, unable to tank without control over their draft picks, but not nearly good enough to compete in a fierce Western Conference.

Through the All-Star break, Phoenix has worked hard to prove everyone wrong. The Suns exited the break in seventh place in the West standings, narrowly trailing the Timberwolves for the sixth seed. The biggest reason for these bucking of expectations? The one and only Dillon Brooks.

Brooks was sent to Phoenix as part of the Durant trade along with Jalen Green. Green has barely played due to injury but Brooks has not only thrived in his new environment—he’s taken a huge step as a player. The ninth-year wing still brings his physical brand of defense (as well as his usual inflammatory antics) to the floor but now pairs all that with a career-high 20.9 points per game. Brooks is currently tied for his career-best shooting from the floor at 44% despite taking a massive leap in shots per game, going from 11.9 attempts last year to 17.9 this year without a drop in efficiency. He is clearly thriving in the role he was born to play—the emotional leader of an underdog team who won’t back down against any opponent.

It’s been a treat to watch him and the Suns play. However, Monday brought brutal news for both parties.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Brooks is slated to miss 4-to-6 weeks after breaking his left hand on Saturday night in a double-OT win over the Magic. That timeline means Brooks will return with about 10 games to go in the regular season at the earliest. At the latest he may be sidelined until the postseason kicks off on Apr. 14.

It’s a terrible stroke of luck for the veteran amidst a career campaign and for the Suns as they enter the stretch run of the year.

How Brooks’s injury could change Western Conference playoff picture

It’s not so much that Brooks’s injury alone is significant (although it is). It’s that, when you pair it with Devin Booker’s injury, the Suns could see a tumble down the standings.

Entering Monday Phoenix sits at 33-25, two games back of Minnesota for the sixth seed and 2 1/2 games ahead of the Warriors in eighth. The Suns announced Booker would miss at least a week with a hip injury on Saturday, meaning he’ll miss at least the next two games. As mentioned above Brooks is slated to miss at least 14 of the team’s final 24 games.

The injuries all but kill any hope Phoenix might’ve had of climbing the standings to get out of the play-in tournament. That’s the most immediate consequence of all this injury news. The Suns still have one game remaining against the Timberwolves and a win would give them an edge in tiebreaker scenarios, but it’s hard to see them winning enough games for that to make a difference.

On the other end, a fall standings-wise could be to the great benefit of Golden State. The Dubs are the only other play-in team within shouting distance of Phoenix in seventh place. They’re dealing with injury issues of their own, even beyond Jimmy Butler’s torn ACL; both Steph Curry and Draymond Green have already missed time post-All-Star break. But home court advantage for the play-in is a big factor when it comes to who will advance to the traditional postseason bracket and the Warriors have a ton riding on their ability to do so this season. This is a fortuitous break for Golden State if the team can take advantage.

It’s not impossible that the Suns will tread water. Booker could be back as soon as of next Tuesday and Phoenix’s schedule is ranked only 17th in terms of strength for the rest of the year. But the injuries highlight just how precarious their place is in the West hierarchy and how drastically one bad week can change their whole season outlook.

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