JaVale McGee joins Ayton, Crowder as out for Suns’ rematch vs. Jazz
Jan 25, 2022, 5:37 PM
JaVale McGee #00 of the Phoenix Suns dunks the ball in the second half against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on January 16, 2022 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
(Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
The Phoenix Suns’ injury report got even longer on Tuesday.
With center Deandre Ayton (right ankle sprain), forward Jae Crowder (left wrist contusion) and guard Cam Payne (right wrist sprain) all missing games recently, center JaVale McGee joins that trio as out for the team’s rematch with the Jazz in Utah on Wednesday due to left knee soreness.
When adding on the long-term injuries for center Frank Kaminsky (right knee stress reaction), wing Abdel Nader (right knee injury management) and center Dario Saric (torn right ACL), that’s seven absent players for Phoenix.
Ayton will sit out his fifth straight game while it’s now two in a row for Crowder and Payne after sustaining their injuries in Saturday’s win over the Indiana Pacers.
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Ayton was on the court before Monday’s victory against Utah getting shots up in his usual pregame workout spot, a good sign that he’s getting close to returning.
Crowder was given a day-to-day designation by the Suns on Monday while Payne will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
A stint under health and safety protocols cost McGee four games during the league’s breakout in January. Over that stretch, Ayton was in the protocols too, leaving second-year big Jalen Smith to start.
Smith played well in a loss to Boston before the team signed veteran Bismack Biyombo to a 10-day contract and the center duo went on to play phenomenally well the next three games. Biyombo earned himself a contract for the rest of the season and leaped ahead of Smith in the rotation when Ayton sprained his ankle.
Those two will now once again be getting the bulk of the minutes at center while Ayton and McGee are out.
For Utah, All-Stars Rudy Gobert (calf) and Donovan Mitchell (concussion) remain out while Bojan Bogdanovic, Mike Conley, Joe Ingles and Royce O’Neale are all not on the injury report. All six did not play on Monday.
Phoenix’s meeting with the Jazz on Wednesday is an 8 p.m. tip-off you can hear on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.
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