Suns Reveal Starting Lineup Ahead of Devin Booker's Return vs Kings

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PHOENIX -- After missing the last four games with a right hip sprain, Devin Booker will be back tonight for the Phoenix Suns as they travel to take on the Sacramento Kings.
Phoenix (34-26) is looking to build momentum against the 14-48 Kings coming off a four-day break that followed a huge upset victory over the Los Angeles Lakers last Thursday.
This game will mark the start of a stretch of six-straight games against teams currently at or below .500 for the Suns, which you can read more about by clicking here.
Phoenix is still dealing with two big injuries with Dillon Brooks (left hand fracture) and Jordan Goodwin (left calf strain) both remaining sidelined.
The Kings, who have only won two of their past 20 games, have a long list of key injuries with Domantas Sabonis (left knee meniscus repair), Zach LaVine (right fifth finger tendon repair), Keegan Murray (left ankle sprain), De'Andre Hunter (left eye retinal repair) and Dylan Cardwell (left ankle sprain) all still out.
The Suns are 3-0 against Sacramento this season.
Suns' Starters vs Kings
With Booker, who told The Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin he expects to be on a minutes restriction, back in the lineup, here's who Phoenix will start against the Kings:
- Collin Gillespie
- Devin Booker
- Jalen Green
- Royce O'Neale
- Mark Williams
The Suns ran with this starting five once before in their first game out of the All-Star break when Brooks was suspended, but never got to see its full potential after Booker was injured in the first half of the game.
This means Ryan Dunn, who started the last three games, moves back to the bench, which could bring about some interesting minutes for Phoenix's forwards with Rasheer Fleming's recent strong play and Haywood Highsmith also available to make his Suns debut tonight.
What Devin Booker's Return Means for Suns
Phoenix will be very happy to have Booker back in the lineup tonight after some major offensive struggles with him unavailable.
The Suns scored their two lowest point totals of the season (77, 81) and shot 35.6% from the field and 29.4% from 3 in the first three games Booker missed before finally finding a groove on offense and shooting 44% from deep against a poor Los Angeles defense Thursday.
Booker's gravity will create a lot more open looks and allow Phoenix's offense to have a rhythm, which could be beneficial for Jalen Green, who is in a huge slump shooting 21-for-75 (28%) from the field and 5-for-33 (15.2%) from 3 over the last four games.
The Kings have the second-worst defensive rating (120.2) in the entire NBA, so the Suns have a great chance to capitalize on Booker's return and try to find some offense, as they rank 27th in the NBA in field goal percentage at 45.3% on the season in large part due to their injury woes all year long.
Tonight's game tips off shortly after 9:00 p.m. MST.
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Brendan Mau is a staff writer for Suns on SI. Brendan has been a credentialed media member covering the Suns since 2023 and holds a bachelor’s degree in sports journalism from Arizona State’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. Follow Brendan on X @Brendan_Mau for more news, updates, analysis and more!