Suns Suddenly Rule 2 Key Players Out vs Bucks

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PHOENIX — Just hours removed from tonight's 7:00 PM AZ time clash with the Milwaukee Bucks, the Phoenix Suns have downgraded two key players.
Both Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale are now out for Saturday night, according to the team's official injury report. Allen was first ruled questionable yesterday with knee inflammation while O'Neale was doubtful on the Suns' injury report due to knee soreness.
They now join all of Amir Coffey (Left Ankle Sprain), Haywood Highsmith (Right Knee Injury Management), Dillon Brooks (Left Hand Fracture) and Mark Williams (Left Foot Third Metatarsal Stress Reaction) as players who are out tonight for Phoenix.
The Suns are riding a four-game losing streak entering Saturday night's clash against Milwaukee, who will be without Giannis Antetokounmpo due to a hyperextended knee. The Bucks have also lost their last six-of-seven games entering the weekend.
Phoenix should still be favored to win tonight, though the sledding won't exactly be easy with two of their top three-point threats out of the lineup.
"He's got to feel right. He plays at such a high level. We love what he does for our team," Suns coach Jordan Ott said of Allen as Phoenix concluded their road trip. Allen's been dealing with the knee discomfort for a handful of games now.
As for O'Neale, his ironman streak of playing every single game for the Suns came to an end against San Antonio, and now the forward will miss his second consectuive matchup.
"Some swelling in there. Nothing serious. Again, it's just something that just popped up," Ott said of O'Neale's injury. "When you get this deep into the season, as many minutes as he's logged. He had a little ankle the other night in the game, but it isn't the ankle. Again, nothing serious, we hope, but just unable to go tonight."
The Suns are desperately trying to climb up the standings of the Western Conference as the regular season begins to wind down. Phoenix, with 12 games remaining, finds themselves close to being stuck in the seventh seed and narrowly avoiding the play-in tournament.
Any hope of the Suns reversing course and leapfrogging themselves into the top six of the West simply has to begin tonight. While Phoenix is still favored to win, losing players such as O'Neale and Allen in their top rotation doesn't exactly make things easier for Ott and his crew at Mortgage Matchip Center.

Donnie Druin is the Publisher for Arizona Cardinals and Phoenix Suns On SI. Donnie moved to Arizona in 2012 and has been with the company since 2018. In college he won "Best Sports Column" in the state of Arizona for his section and has previously provided coverage for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona State Sun Devils. Follow Donnie on Twitter @DonnieDruin for more news, updates, analysis and more!