Devin Booker Injury Sparks Suns Concerns in New NBA Power Rankings

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns are without Devin Booker due to his groin injury, and as a result the team's placement across NBA power rankings has varied.

While the Suns were able to steal a win in Los Angeles last Monday, their fate against Houston a few days later might've exposed Phoenix's squad without their top player -- and with Booker's exact return date unknown, that leads to some caution from two notable sites in updated power rankings:

NBA.com: No. 8 (down one spot)

John Schuhmann: "The Suns got a quality win in L.A. on Monday, ending the Lakers’ seven-game winning streak. But they lost Devin Booker to a groin injury in the first quarter and have now lost three of their last four games.

"The Suns are now 4-5 against the six teams ahead of them in the Western Conference standings, with three more games against that group in the next seven or eight days, depending on NBA Cup results. It seems doubtful that Booker will be available for their quarterfinal game in Oklahoma City on Wednesday."

The Athletic: No. 13 (up one spot)

Law Murray: "This is actually the third season in a row that Phoenix has won 12 of its first 20 games, and the Suns have done it under three different head coaches. The outcome of the season was very different with Frank Vogel in 2023-24 (swept in first round) than it was under Mike Budenholzer last season (failed to qualify for Play-In Tournament), so the Suns should know there is more work to do.

"That work is a little tougher given the soft-tissue injuries affecting Devin Booker and especially Jalen Green. But Phoenix is relevant in the West because of a defense that collects more steals than any team in the league (yes, even more than the Thunder)."

Suns Give Devin Booker Update

Booker was initially given a week's worth of time to recover with his groin injury before the Suns would re-evaluate him.

“We'll continue to assess him day-by-day, but he's been through this before,” Suns coach Jordan Ott told The Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin ahead of their loss vs. Houston. “So he knows exactly where he's at and his body and he's made good progress in a short amount of time.”

Booker is already ruled out ahead of tonight's matchup vs. Minnesota.

The Suns do have a massive NBA Cup game against OKC on Wednesday -- which Booker could be ready for.

"If his body is feeling good and he's in a good place, he'll absolutely be available," Ott said.