New Orleans – Star of the Phoenix Suns Devin Booker His coach Monty Williams said he will be back in his team’s sixth game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night after missing the past three games due to a strain in his right hamstring.
Booker was officially promoted into doubt shortly before the match and was expected to test the leg in warm-ups before the match before getting approval. Williams said he has progressed well in recent days as the Suns advanced 3-2 in the first round series.
“It’s hard at this time of year to imitate an NBA game,” Williams said of why Booker is back. “He’s been on the ground with (Suns assistant coach) Jarrett Jack a few times. He’s doing everything he can to get to that point.”
When asked if the Suns would monitor Booker’s Match 6 minutes, Williams smiled and said “yes,” adding that the return of the goalkeeper gives Phoenix a “balance of the roster.”
“It helps sort of flatten the team’s rankings relatively a bit,” Williams said. “It won’t play the usual 36, 38, 40 workload, but it still gives you a little more balance.”
Booker scored 25 points in the Suns’ win in Game 1 and then scored 31 in the first half of Game 2 before being injured in the third quarter and ultimately losing.
ESPN’s Andrew Lopez contributed to this report.