The Phoenix Suns’ injury problems continued on Monday night when veteran point guard Chris Paul left the team’s 100-88 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers with right heel soreness. Paul finished the game with two points, two rebounds and two assists in 14 minutes, and is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game against the Timberwolves in Minnesota.
“It’s a lot better than what we thought last night,” Suns coach Monty Williams said Tuesday regarding Paul’s injury. “He’s going to have some more evaluations done, but if he’s not right, we won’t put him on the floor.”
In the middle of the second quarter, Paul attempted to navigate a screen when he appeared to either get tripped up or lose his balance. Regardless, he came up hobbling and checked out at the next whistle. He then made his way to the locker room and a short time later the team announced he would not return.
We’ll have to see how much time Paul misses, if any. Right heel soreness does not sound too serious. However, he’s now 37 and has dealt with a multitude of injuries in the past few seasons. At the very least this will be something to pay attention to over the next few days.
Another injury to a key player would be the last thing the Suns need right now. Starting center Deandre Ayton has already missed multiple games due to an ankle injury and just returned a few days ago. He also appeared to tweak his ankle on Monday but was able to stay in the game. Cameron Johnson is out indefinitely after the starting forward suffered a torn meniscus that required surgery. And the Suns are also without Jae Crowder, who is on leave while he waits for a trade.
Despite all the injury issues, the Suns have gotten off to a strong start and entered Monday in first place in the Western Conference. Even with this loss they are still 7-3 and tied for the fourth-best record in the league.
