Suns Lose Starter to Injury Before Spurs Matchup

The Phoenix Suns will not have Royce O'Neale for tonight's matchup against the San Antonio Spurs.

O'Neale was initially listed questionable with left knee soreness before being ruled out ahead of game time.

O'Neale has played in every game this season for Phoenix and is one of two players to do so, joined alongside Oso Ighodaro. O'Neale's 64 starts are also the most out of any Suns player.

Fellow key player Grayson Allen is still questionable with left knee soreness as well. Mark Williams (foot) and Dillon Brooks (hand) are out for Phoenix tonight while San Antonio has a clean injury report.

Opening tip tonight is slated for 5:00 PM AZ time.

The Suns are currently on a three-game losing streak, and tonight's battle won't get any easier — especially with O'Neale's three-point shooting out of the lineup.

O'Neale is averaging 9.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. While the numbers don't exactly pop off the page, he is indeed a key cog in Jordan Ott's system.

"Royce just lives steady. He is always positive, he comes in every day, comes to work with a smile on his face. He's been through it, in different places. I can't thank him enough as a first-year head coach, as a person and he's just there," Ott previously said of O'Neale.

"He's present and he's always on the court, always ready. Some different matchups tonight with one of the greatest players ever. He has to match up to him and he takes the challenge every single night. You can feel his competitiveness along with his intelligence that really lifts our group. We feel good within all those games, end of game and doesn't make mistakes."

O'Neale's absence potentially opens the door for rookie Rasheer Fleming to continue making an impact while recently healthy veteran Haywood Highsmith could also see a larger role tonight.

Phoenix certainly needs it to cap a six-game road trip. The Suns are desperately trying to avoid establishing a four-game losing streak, which would be just their second of the season.

San Antonio is second in the West while the Suns are seventh. Phoenix has stole two-of-three matchups against the Spurs, so Ott's crew does have a recipe of success against Victor Wembanyama and co.

However, for the first time all season the Suns won't have O'Neale's shooting in the lineup. We'll see how Phoenix is able to adjust.