Devin Booker’s interchangeability, Suns’ mentality have helped team withstand injuries

PHOENIX — There’s already been a significant amount of injuries the Phoenix Suns have had to battle through over less than a quarter of the season.

Because Jalen Green’s hamstring injury occurred in the preseason, Phoenix had enough time to prepare for his absence. When he reaggravated it in his second game back, the Suns snapped right back into the earlier groove.

Grayson Allen scored a career-high 42 points in the game after Green went back down, but he suffered a quad injury just two games later.

Dillon Brooks also missed six games (core muscle strain), and Mark Williams has not yet played a back-to-back (two games missed).

The Suns (9-6) are still in the thick of it. There’s no return in sight for Green, Williams is still being managed for back-to-backs and Allen is working his way back.

Allen participated in practice on Thursday, but the team never went 5-on-5, coach Jordan Ott said.

The coach added the ramp-up plan for Williams has “been nothing but positive” ahead of Phoenix’s third set of back-to-back games against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday and Houston Rockets on Monday.

Since the last game he sat out on Nov. 13, Williams has played 49 minutes in two games, averaging 11 points and five rebounds per contest.

“We have to get through tomorrow night (against the Minnesota Timberwolves) first, but I do think he’s feeling better than he has,” Ott said. “We’re going to try to stay as diligent as we can to the plan, but when you see him out there and you feel his energy and see his size and see him productive, we all get excited, but we have to continue to stick with it.”

Devin Booker’s versatility to bounce between starting off the ball or on it goes a great length toward Phoenix adjusting on the fly, especially when it’s ball handlers like Green or Allen dealing with injuries.

He’s been the only true guard in the starting lineup since Allen went down, flanked by Brooks, Royce O’Neale, Ryan Dunn and Williams.

Booker looks capable of a career year as a playmaker, as his career high for any season is 7.1 assists per game and he’s dished out at least seven in 10 of 15 games with double digits in two contests.

“Can throw him out there as a three, four, doesn’t matter. I think he’s just going to try to find a way to have success,” Ott said. “Game’s so interchangeable at this point. Most lineups have fives in them, but everyone else can pass, dribble and shoot a lot of the times.

“(Booker’s willingness to play anywhere) makes my job a lot easier. In our group, we’ve found a lot, but there’s going to be a lot more that we can find, especially in this stretch coming.”

Williams added there’s a two-way street between inactive players remaining engaged and supportive on the bench and the players out on the floor wanting to pick up the slack as a team.

He called it a “team mentality” that goes hand-in-hand with the “next man up” cliché.

Phoenix has its second NBA Cup game on Friday against Minnesota, which has the early upper hand on the rest of West Group A with a 2-0 start. The Suns are 1-0 to begin group play.

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