Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks Injuries Freeze Suns in NBA Power Rankings

PHOENIX — It feels impossible to not highlight the obvious absence of both Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks within the last set of games for the Phoenix Suns.

Booker suffered a hip injury but is slated to return to the lineup tonight while Brooks will be out a few more weeks with his fractured hand.

Any team that loses their top two scorers is bound to struggle in some fashion, though Phoenix also lost the gravity Booker accumulates on the floor — opening up space for his teammates — while Brooks' defensive prowess and tenacity sets the tone for the Suns' roster from top to bottom.

That was noted across a handful of NBA power rankings this week:

NBA.com: 10th (same spot as last week)

John Schuhmann: "The Suns were struggling without both Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks, but they got a huge win over the Lakers on Thursday, with Royce O’Neale draining the game-winning 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds left.

"The Suns will have had four days off before beginning a stretch of six straight games against teams with losing records, with a visit to Sacramento on Tuesday. They’re 19-7 against that group and should have Booker back in the lineup at some point this week."

The Athletic: 11th (same)

Law Murray: "The Suns found out how they’re going to make up for not having their 20-point scorers in Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks, and that’s to get up as many 3s as possible. They didn’t have enough possessions to make that happen against the Celtics, but they found 22 made 3s against the Lakers. Phoenix will be vulnerable until Booker gets back, and Brooks might not play in March, so they will have to play with postseason-level energy and urgency this month."

Yahoo!: 15th

Ben Rohrback: "The Suns know what they have to do. It’s just hard without Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks. 'There's not going to be a game without Book, without Dillon, that we cannot win the possession game,' admitted Phoenix coach Jordan Ott. 'We have to win it. We have been like that all season. With those guys and without them, we have to win it. So our locker room knows that.'”

The good news? Phoenix is set to embark on a stretch of six consecutive games against teams under .500 beginning tonight. The Suns are in prime position to either climb the standings of the Western Conference or cushion themselves as the seventh seed with a current 34-26 record.

If things go according to plan for Phoenix, perhaps next week we'll be seeing the Suns shoot up the NBA power ranking world.